Kinomoto's Angel
by bishounen lovah
Summary: Strange things are happening in Tomoeda. Touya & Syaoran suspect it's got something to do w/ the new girl who looks exactly like Nadeshiko Kinomoto. Can they save Sakura from this new evil? R&R pls. *ON HOLD*
1. Newcomer

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE:  _**_This was actually my first fanfic ever but got deleted together with my initial author account (touya_mou).  I'm reposting it again since I'm particularly fond of this one.  Subsequent chapters will be posted every week.  To those who have read this fic already please bear with me._

_Please send in some reviews if anybody likes this story.  If I don't get enough reviews, it will mean that this sucks and I shouldn't waste time reposting the other chapters._

**DISCLAIMER:**  I do not own CCS or any of its characters. CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

Kinomoto's Angel 

By bishounen lovah aka touya_mou

Chapter 1: Newcomer

_One school day morning…_

"Aaahh!!! I'm late again!" Sakura yelled as she jumped off her bed, accidentally kicking Keroberos in the process.

"Umph!" The little guardian stopped sweatdropping when he was thrown across the room landing on some stuffed animals. "Itai! So this is the thanks I get for waking you up. I don't understand why you still keep that alarm clock of yours when it can't wake you up."

Sakura glanced at the winged bear like creature as she hopped around the room trying to put on her socks and uniform at the same time. "Gomen nasai. Did I hurt you or something?"

"Nah. I have to thank that Chinese gaki because his bear broke my fall."

The brown stuffed bear that Syaoran Li gave Sakura before he left Tomoeda sat on the desk and was illuminated by the morning light pouring from her window. She stared at it for a moment, mesmerized as she remembered her card capturing days with Syaoran, his cousin Meiling Li, and her bestfriend Tomoyo Daidouji.

_It's been a long year,_ she sighed. _A long and boring year since I last changed the Clow cards into Sakura cards…since Syaoran went back to Hong Kong. I wonder what he's doing right now._

Keroberos noticed Sakura's unhappy face and decided to cheer her up. He flew across the room and right in front of the Card Mistress' face as he made, in his opinion, a funny face. "Shakurraahh," said Keroberos as he stretched his mouth with his hands and alternately rolling and crossing his eyes.

"_Hoeee_!" Sakura was caught unaware and was surprised (and a little bit frightened) at the disfigured Keroberos. "Jeez! What were you trying to do? You know I easily get scared."

Keroberos sweatdropped. _Well, it wasn't the reaction I was hoping for but it will do. Damn that gaki! He should have called or at least written to Sakura. When I see him I'll…_

Any other unpleasant thoughts were prematurely interrupted when Sakura shouted again as she remembered that she was running late. She yelled her goodbye and asked Keroberos to stay out of trouble (meaning to not eat all of the food in the kitchen) then ran out of her room.

Neither of them noticed that someone was watching them from a nearby tree.

_Downstairs…_

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Otousan! Ohayo Touya-niichan!" Sakura sat down at the dining table and glanced at the picture frame to her left. "Ohayo, Okaasan," she whispered. Nadeshiko Kinomoto died when Sakura was just three years old. She was a famous model and was very beautiful.

"Well, my little kaijuu, you're up early today," said Touya as he placed a plateful of pancakes in front of Sakura. Touya is Sakura's only sibling who loves to tease her. He is a senior at Seijou High School, which is located right beside Sakura's Tomoeda Elementary School.

"I am not a monster!" This has been a daily morning ritual for the Kinomoto family. Although Sakura knows that his brother loves her she can't help being annoyed whenever he calls her kaijuu.

"Alright you two cut it out." An exasperated Fujitaka folded the newspaper and laid it down on his side of the table. "Can't we have a peaceful breakfast just this once?"

"Sumanu, father," laughed Touya, "demohow can I not call her a monster if she keeps on behaving like one." He observed Sakura as she quickly stuffed her face with pancakes, barely chewing it before swallowing.

Sakura was about to retort when a large chunk of food got stuck on her throat. She thumped her chest several times and drank some juice in order to dislodge it. "I'm late. It's my turn to clean our classroom today," she said as she stood up and grabbed her bag.

"Arigatou for the breakfast. I'll see you guys later."

"Sometimes she worries me so," Fujitaka sighed as he watched Sakura running to the door.

Touya was seriously observing his sister. Something was bothering him although he doesn't know what. It's been a long time since he felt this kind of emotion and it's a bit unsettling. He stood up, said his goodbye to his father, and followed Sakura out of the house.

A few minutes have passed… 

Sakura was skating towards school. She loved the feeling of the wind against her auburn hair, which has grown past her shoulder.  Humming some tune, she started to pick up some speed but was stopped by a voice calling her name. Thinking it was Yukito Tsukishiro, her brother's best friend, she turned and skated backwards.

"Hey, wait up!" Touya shouted as he tried to catch up with Sakura.

"How come you're not riding your bike?" asked Sakura as she slowed down.

"It's got a flat tire. I wasn't able to fix it yesterday because I got home late from work."

"Well, you'd better pick up your pace. I'm really late." She started to pick up her speed again and was about to make a right turn when a girl appeared from the curb going directly towards her.

"Aaargghh!" Sakura veered to the left towards the incoming traffic. She started waving her hands desperately, was too surprised to use her brakes.

The girl caught Sakura's right hand but was also unable to stop her and was tugged towards the traffic. Touya then grabbed the girl's arm and tugged her towards him with a great deal amount of strength. The force of everything caused him to stumble backwards dragging both girls with him to the ground. All three groaned. Touya was lying on the pavement; Sakura was kneeling on fours in front of him while the girl was sitting directly on top of Touya's stomach.

"Daijoubu?" The girl brushed some of her hair out of her face trying to see if the little girl was all right.

"I'm fine. Although I don't know about my brother," Sakura glanced at Touya who was still groaning after getting full force of the impact.

It was then that the girl realized she was sitting on top of him. She quickly knelt beside him. "Gomen nasai! Are you alright?" She held out her hand in order to help him up. Touya took it and sat up while shaking his head, checking if he's still in one piece.

"Oh, he'll be alright. He's much tougher than he looks." Sakura glanced at the girl beside her and was about to apologize for what happened when she noticed her face.

"Hoe!" Sakura crawled a couple of feet backwards away from the girl, stared at her with big eyes then crawled back in front of her, never leaving her eyes on the girl.

"Nani!" Touya was now also kneeling on fours, staring at the girl with the same expression on his face as Sakura's.

"What's wrong," the girl asked as she sweatdropped, a little bit frightened of her two companions. "Do I have dirt on my face?"

Both Kinomotos shook their head vigorously and simultaneously then crawled toward the girl stopping when their faces are directly in front of the girl's. By now the girl was sweatdropping a lot. "Yare yare."

"Oy! Touya, Sakura!" The staring contest was broken for a second to see who called them. After they saw that it was Yukito, furiously waving and running at them, they turned back to gawk at the girl undauntedly.

"Ohayo gozaimasu. What are you doing on the ground?" Yukito reached their side and saw what, or rather who, they were staring at. "Ohayo. You're new here right," he stated as he helped the girl up.

"Hai, hai!" said the girl enthusiastically as she quickly got on her feet, relieved that she was saved from being stared at as though she was the spectacle of the year. "My name is Naomi Lee and I'm from London," she bowed down as she introduced herself.

"I'm Yukito Tsukishiro. It's a pleasure meeting you. And these two are Touya Kinomoto and his sister Sakura."

Naomi smiled at them as she dusted off her skirt. "Sakura. That's a beautiful name. It means cherry blossom, right?" Sakura nodded furiously, still staring at her intensely.

"I'm sorry if we were rude a little while ago," apologized Touya. "You see…you look just like someone we knew." He took in Naomi's long, dark, curly hair, her shining eyes _(AN: Okay. So I don't know the color of Nadeshiko's eyes. Those who do know, please inform me)_ and her bright yet shy smile.  _She really looks like 'kaasan_, he thought._ She even sound like 'kaasan._

"Really?" It was Yukito's turn to stare. He did so for a long time that his companions were already sweatdropping. "I give up. Whom does she look like?" All three of them animatedly dropped to the ground. 

_Yukito can be quite dense sometimes_, Sakura thought. "Hoe! I forgot. I'm late. Terada-sensei's going to kill me!" She started to skate away then turned backwards as she remembered to say goodbye. "It's nice meeting you, Lee-chan. I hope you'll like living here in Tomoeda. See you guys later."

"Be careful, kaijuu!"

"I'M NOT A MONSTER!!!"

"We'd better get going too," Yukito said.

Naomi started to pick up her bag while Touya, after collecting his own bag, reached for the girl's bag. Touya was faster so Naomi's hand landed on top of his. Touya felt his face go warmer as he stared at Naomi's smiling face. He mentally shook his head and handed her the bag.

"So you're going to Seijou too. What year are you in," asked Yukito, unaware of Touya's attraction to Naomi.

"I'm a senior." She and Yukito were walking behind Touya and followed him make the right turn. She started laughing softly and Touya looked at her in question raising his right eyebrow. "So I was going the right way," she explained. "You see I thought I took a wrong turn that's why I traced my steps back. If only I didn't, I wouldn't have caused Sakura's near accident."

"It wasn't your fault. She shouldn't have skated that fast in the first place," said Touya.

They've just entered the gates of their school. Naomi stopped and stared at her surroundings finally resting her eyes on the adjoining Tomoeda Elementary School where Sakura ran madly towards the hallway.

"So this is where it begins," she whispered to herself as the warning bell rung.

_Tbc…_


	2. Home Comers

**Bishlov's notes:**

Arigatou to the people who reviewed this story.  It's such a pleasure that some thinks that this is worth continuing.  Anyways, I forgot to tell you last chapter that the time setting is one year after Syaoran left and that the Void Card (movie 2) never existed.  I hope you'll find this chapter interesting and not too boring.  Ja ne, minna-san!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own CCS or any of its characters. CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

Kinomoto's Angel 

By bishounen lovah aka touya_mou

Chapter 2: Home comers

"Ohayo gozaimasu." Sakura panted as she leaned on her classroom's doorway.

"Ohayo, Sakura," said Tomoyo Daidouji. Sakura's best friend was busy arranging some flowers in the vase. "You're late again. It's a good thing I'm your partner today or else Terada-sensei would have found out you've neglected your duty."

"I know, I know." Sakura went to her desk at the back of the room and placed her hat and bag on the table. She sighed and turned back to Tomoyo.

"Gomen nasai. I'm really, really sorry for ditching you but I have a very good reason," Sakura paused. It wasn't because she was being secretive but for some reason she was reluctant to tell her best friend about bumping into a girl that looked exactly like her mother, Nadeshiko Kinomoto. The shock of meeting Naomi has yet to wear off. "Anyway, I'll make it up to you after class. I'll do all the chores, including yours."

Tomoyo had to smile. Sakura is the nicest person she has ever met. The day that Sakura ditched someone or something she was supposed to do would be the day she was on her deathbed. She remembered the time when Sakura forced herself to go to school despite having a high fever so that Sakura's father won't have to cancel his archaeological trip. Sakura also didn't want to "ditch" her, Syaoran-kun and Meiling-chan with a project they were supposed to do. To top it all up, she managed to capture a Clow card in her weak state.

_All because she's caring and full of honor_, Tomoyo thought with pride.

"Don't sweat it, Sakura. We're friends, remember? And friends always help each other out," Tomoyo paused, deciding to joke around. "We'll both do our duties after class and then you can repay me by modeling some of the new costumes that I've made for you."

Sakura sweatdropped at seeing Tomoyo's starry eyes. Even though there wasn't any trouble around ever since a year ago when she turned all of the Clow cards into Sakura cards, Tomoyo has somehow managed to find excuses for her to make more outrageous clothes for Sakura.

"Do you know that centuries ago, pharaohs in Egypt hire people to make costumes for their pet snakes?" Takashi Yamazaki said after appearing at the girl's side out of nowhere. Sakura sweatdropped some more although she was listening aptly to what her classmate is saying.

"It's true! Centuries ago people jumped at the chance on designing clothes and jewelries for the royal asps. If the pharaoh likes the costume he then hires another person to make a pyramid for the designer. But if the pharaoh doesn't like the costume then," Yamazaki paused for dramatic effect.

Sakura leaned more closely towards Yamazaki waiting for him to continue. _Otousan never mentioned this stuff to me before._ Just then another one of her classmate suddenly appeared.

"Are you up to no good again Takashi?" Chiharu Mihara started pushing up her sleeves then grabbed Yamazaki by his collar and pulled him away. "You're always telling Sakura far-fetched stories. When are you ever going to stop," she demanded.

"But it really is true! When the pharaoh doesn't like the costume he still makes a pyramid for the designer but this time he locks him up in the pyramid alive with his royal asps," Yamazaki continued even as he was being dragged away.

"I can't believe it wasn't true," Sakura said as the final bell rang. _And I can't believe I fell for it again_, she added to herself. She sat down on her chair as their homeroom teacher entered the classroom.

"All right! Settle down you guys. I have an announcement to make," Terada-sensei waited until he got everyone's attention. "You have new classmates although most of you know them already. Come in Syaoran Li and Meiling Li."

After hearing the names, Sakura snapped her head towards the door. And sure enough Syaoran and Meiling entered the room and started the customary introductions.

"Meiling take the seat beside Tomoyo Daidouji. Syaoran take the one behind Sakura Kinomoto."

"Hai," they said in unison. Syaoran was avoiding Sakura's gaze ever since he entered the room. He knew what would happen if he saw her face. Unfortunately, when Terada-sensei mentioned her name he already started blushing. _Might as well look at her now_, he decided, raising his head a bit. Their eyes made contact and he started to blush a shade deeper. _She's as cute as ever._

He felt pain on his left side. He thought it was his heart thumping madly but then suddenly realized that it was Meiling poking him to move. He mentally shook his head and started moving towards the back of the room. He felt his face go warmer. Fortunately, another teacher called Terada-sensei to the door but his classmates were looking at him oddly (except for Tomoyo and Meiling who were smiling secretively).

"Ohayo!" Meiling leaned on her desk facing Sakura and Tomoyo.

"It's so great to see you guys," Tomoyo replied for Sakura and Syaoran were looking down at their desks feeling self-conscious. "But why are you here?"

Meiling was about to answer but was halted by Terada-sensei's request to open their books. She just smiled and mouthed the word _later_ to her.

Sakura sat quietly, unsure of what she should do. This morning had been full of surprises. The shock of seeing Naomi was wearing off but was quickly replaced by the shock of seeing Syaoran. _Why is he here?_

~Lunchtime~

"So why are you here exactly?" They were sitting on the secluded part of their school near Seijou High School. 

Realizing she was being rude Sakura began blubbering. "I mean it's not like I'm not glad you're here because I am, it's just you usually have a reason for doing something not that I'm saying you should have a reason. I mean you can come here anytime you want. It's a free country after all. Ano…" She started laughing pathetically at herself, her face tinged with pink, then stopped and sighed a bubble (anime style).

We were ordered to come back here to Japan." Syaoran explained as he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning on a tree. "At least I was. Meiling just wanted to tag along."

"Don't be rude Syaoran! Who's going to protect you while you're protecting Sakura," Meiling blunted out causing Syaoran to turn his red face away from his friends and sigh.

"What do you mean protect me," Sakura asked, confused as ever. "And who ordered you?"

_This is going to be hard to explain_, Syaoran thought. He was deciding how to answer Sakura without having to divulge his real orders, without having to hurt her feelings.

"Why don't you start with the Li clan elders," Meiling interrupted his thoughts.

"Who are the Li clan elders," asked Tomoyo.

"They are these grumpy old men who runs everything in our family until Syaoran is ready to assume his position as leader of our clan," Meiling explained. At her side, Syaoran sighed again and started to tell the story.

~Flashback~ 

_I wonder what Sakura is doing now._ Syaoran just finished his morning training and was resting, hanging upside down on a branch like a bat. He closed his eyes and almost instantly conjured up Sakura's smiling face in his mind. He missed his cherry blossom terribly. It has only been a year since he last saw her in the Tomoeda International Airport but somehow to him it seemed like a decade had already passed.

_Damn those elders_, Syaoran thought angrily. _They could have at least let me write to her._ They have forbidden him to make any contact to people outside the clan, especially people from Tomoeda. This was his punishment for not being able to restore the Clow cards back to their family. Their orders were for him to train day and night. To eat, breathe and live magic and martial arts.

Syaoran was unaware of being watched. And unaware that his face had turned as bright as a ripe tomato from anger. Yelan Li just sighed. She had already guessed her son's feelings for the Card Mistress although he feigned indifference in front of others. She noticed that his face was all scrunched up now, grinding his teeth forcefully. She decided to interrupt his thoughts before he fall from the tree, distracted as he was.

Syaoran heard someone walking towards him. His mother was wearing a curiously bland expression making him realize she saw his unpleasant conversation with himself. _No matter_, he thought as he righted his position on the branch. _Mother rarely misses anything. I know that she knows. It's what she's thinking I'm worried about._

"How was your training today, Xiao Lang?" Yelan looked up at her son.

"Better than yesterday." Syaoran waited for his mother to continue. She has never interrupted his training without a good reason. He wasn't mistaken.

"The elders request your presence," she said quietly.

"Request," Syaoran snorted, jumping off the tree. "More like they _order_ me to see them."

"Xiao Lang! You will not speak such things," Yelan's voice sharpening. "The elders are doing these things for your own good. For the good of the clan."

"I'm sorry," he apologized." But that's all they care about. They don't care about anything or anyone outside the clan. They are all sitting on their high horses just because they are related to the great Clow Reed."

"That's true," Yelan agreed. She understood how her son felt. The pressure of upholding their family name is overwhelming, more so to Xiao Lang since he is to be their leader. "Anyway, make yourself look presentable before you go to them."

"Yeah, right!" Syaoran walked away and proceeded towards the top floor of the Li mansion. He deliberately ignored his mother's request. _No way am I going to look presentable just for some old, crabby men._ He waited for the servant to announce his arrival before entering the conference room.

He stood in the middle of the room under the scrutiny of the elders who were sitting side by side on a long table. "Ah, Xiao Lang," said the oldest of them all (_AN: I was supposed to call him the eldest of the elders as a joke but fortunately I bumped my head and realized it was so corny he he_). "It is nice of you to join us"

"Will you cut the pleasantries and get on with it. I still have some training to do."

"Your enthusiasm to your training is overwhelming. Very well," the elder cleared his throat. "You are to return to Tomoeda tomorrow."

This rendered Syaoran speechless. _Did I hear him right? They're sending me back to Sakura?_ His mind was racing but mentally shook his head and tried to look as if he didn't care. "Why," this much he wanted to know.

"We have felt a strong, dark force in Japan. We fear for the Clow Cards."

Syaoran frowned. _They are worried about the Clow cards but not the Card Mistress. They truly are selfish._ "What dark force? Is Sakura Kinomoto in danger?"

"Your mission is to make sure that the Clow Cards doesn't fall into the hands of evil," the elder deliberately evaded Syaoran's question. "You are to leave immediately. This will put your training into good use." With that he waved his hand, dismissing Syaoran.

Syaoran fumed at this as he left the room. _They're hiding something. . .but what? How am I supposed to protect Sakura when I don't even know what this is all about?_

His thoughts were interrupted when he was suddenly grabbed by the waist. "Xiao Lang," Meiling said as she squeezed the life out of her cousin.

"Meiling, cut it out." Syaoran pulled her arms off him.

"So did you miss me?" She knew of Syaoran's affection towards Sakura and she didn't mind now although she was terribly disappointed at first. She liked Sakura. If Syaoran couldn't love her, it might as well be the next best girl after her. Still she can't help but tease him.

"We just saw each other at breakfast this morning," said an exasperated Syaoran.

"So why did the elders want to see you," she asked as she fell in step with Syaoran, following him to his room.

"They want me to go back to Tomoeda. Apparently they sensed that the Clow Cards are in danger," He took a suitcase out from his closet and opened it on his bed.

So you're finally going to see your darling Sakura again," Meiling said as she reached under Syaoran's bed and took out a teddy bear from its hiding place. Syaoran bought it shortly after returning to Hong Kong as a reminder that Sakura accepted the stuffed bear that he made for her.

Meiling danced around the room holding the bear at its arms. "O Sakura, my Sakura, how I missed you so," she play-acted as though she was Syaoran and the bear was Sakura. She then started smacking loud kisses on the bear's face. "Mwah, mwah, mwah!"

"Cut it out!" He grabbed the bear and threw it inside his suitcase ignoring the fact that he's blushing madly.

"I'm going with you," she suddenly decided. "Oh, don't pull that face on me, Xiao Lang. The elders wouldn't mind. Besides, who's gonna prevent you from making a fool out of yourself in front of Sakura?"

"Yare yare," he said but decided that she had a point.

"Yay! We're going back to Japan." She jumped on the bed making Syaoran's luggage and clothes fall to the floor.

"Mou," Syaoran sighed.

~End of flashback~ 

"So that's why we're here" Syaoran finished. Of course he didn't tell them about the elder's neglect in ordering Sakura's protection and not just the cards. Especially not about the part with the teddy bear.

"An evil force," Sakura whispered.

"Don't worry, Sakura," said Tomoyo. "I'm sure you and Li-kun can handle it."

"And besides," Meiling added, "the elders could be wrong. How would they know if something or someone is in Japan when they themselves haven't left that stupid dark room in ages."

"Konnichiwa!" All four of them turned to see who shouted the greeting. They saw Yukito and a girl walking toward the wire fence that separates their schools. Each of them was carrying a big bag full of foods. They couldn't see who the girl was because a large French bread was hiding her face.

"Hi Sakura, Tomoyo," greeted Yukito. It was then he noticed the other two. "Hey! Aren't you Sakura's friends from Hong Kong? Syaoran and Meiling Li, right?

Syaoran blushed and nodded. He wasn't blushing because he still _likes_ Yukito. It's just that he was embarrassed at not having realized sooner that the attraction he felt towards the older boy was because of the great power of Yue, the moon guardian of the Clow Cards and secret identity of Yukito.

"Konnichiwa!" Naomi tilted her head and lowered the bag she's carrying a bit so the bread wouldn't block he face.

"Naomi!" It was Sakura's turn to blush. She liked her. Not just because she is so beautiful and looks like her mother but also because she was so nice. "Minna, this is Naomi Lee. She's new in town. Naomi, these are my friends. Tomoyo Daidouji, Meiling Li and Syaoran Li."

"It's nice to meet you," Naomi smiled radiantly.

"Syaoran felt uneasy. There's something about this girl although he doesn't know what. He looked at Naomi then at Sakura's slightly pink cheeks. He felt his eyes narrow into slits. He turned his attention back at Naomi and was startled. Both her wrists were adorned with ivory bracelets with Chinese carvings on it. _I've seen that before_, he said to himself.

He felt her eyes on him so he raised his head to meet her eyes. She smiled at him. _I'm having that weird feeling again. I haven't felt like this since Kaho Mizuki. Their smiles are alike. It's as if she knows something that I don't._

"We'd better get going. Touya is waiting for us," said Yukito.

"Hai. It's a pleasure meeting you all," Naomi said to the group. Then she looked back at Syaoran again and smiled. "I'll see you guys later."

They were watching the two enter their building when Tomoyo suddenly cried out an outburst. "Your mother! She looks exactly like you mother, Sakura."

"Really," Meiling asked. "Is that possible?"

"Well I've heard somewhere that a person always have a double in this earth," Tomoyo replied.

_Maybe_, Syaoran thought suspiciously. _But I don't believe it. It can't be just a coincidence that she looks like someone Sakura loves and yet have nothing to do with the trouble we are anticipating._

_To be continued. . ._


	3. The Beginning

**Bishlov's notes:**  Hehehe.  Some people are ganging up on me.  Sorry folks but even though I already have nine or so chapters more of this story (I can't remember how many they are ^_^0) stored in a diskette somewhere in my chaotic room, I'm still going to upload WEEKLY.  It would give me some time to figure out how to kill the bad guy with a big bang.  **Evil's toughpreacher** and **cherubimsakura**, please be patient and just enjoy the ride (again!).  Thank you very much to all of you who reviewed.  I'm pretty sure you're gonna like this chapter because it's got some action in it.  Ja ne, minna!!!

**Disclaimer:**  I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

Kinomoto's Angel 

By bishounen lovah aka touya_mou

Chapter 3: The Beginning

Touya stood in front of their classroom's window (which was on the sixth floor) staring blindly at the Tomoeda Elementary School.  This has been his habit ever since his sister started to go there.  He promised himself that he would look after her ever since their mother passed away.

_She had been so young when Okaasan had died._  He tried desperately to fill in their mother's shoes.  He never failed to prepare breakfast for Sakura when their father was not around.  He tried to be around her all the time that's why he kept on finding jobs that would bring him close to her.  He loved her that much.  He was his little _kaijuu_.

But he is starting to learn to let go.  _Sakura is not a child anymore.  She can take care of herself.  She proved that when she succeeded in becoming the Card Mistress_, he sighed.

Something caught his attention beyond the wire fence of the school.  It was Sakura and Tomoyo sitting on the lawn with some other kids.  He leaned closer for a better look. "Nani," Touya shouted making his classmates look at him.

_Aren't those the Chinese troublemakers?_  He leaned some more pressing his hands and nose to the glass.  _There's no mistake.  It's that Chinese gaki again._  A vein popped out (anime style) at the back of his head and started thumping madly.  By now, the other students are sweatdropping and looking at Touya as if he'd lost his mind.  _What is he doing here?_

He was starting to move away from the window to confront Syaoran Li when he noticed Yukito and Naomi moving towards Sakura and her friends.  _Naomi_, he said to himself thoughtfully.  _Who is she . . .why does she look like you, Okaasan . . .she's so beautiful._  Touya's heart started to thump wildly.  _I'm attracted to her_, that much he admitted to himself._  But why do I feel like something's going to happen?_  He looked back at the wire fence and saw that she was gone and so was Yukito.

He sat back on his chair and waited for them.  _Something is going to happen_, he stated to himself._  This is no coincidence.  Li is here.  That means there is trouble._

"Gomen ne, Touya," Yukito interrupted his thoughts.  "Did you get tired of waiting for us?"

Touya looked up and saw Yukito sit on the chair in front of him.  Naomi smiled at him as she sat down on the chair beside him.  Instantly, his cheeks flared up, as he took in her beautiful, smiling face.  He mentally shook his head.  It was then he noticed each of them had a big bag of food in front of them.

"Er, Yukito, you bought a lot of food today," Touya motioned at both bags.  "Are you sure you can eat them all?"

"Oh no," Naomi replied. "You got it all wrong.  This bag is mine."

"You're kidding, right?" Touya sweatdropped as he watched her enthusiastically open the wrapper of a burger.

"No, she's not."  Yukito unwrapped his own burger.  "Finally, I meet a woman who knows the joy of eating."

Naomi smiled at Yukito.  Touya saw this and felt a tinge of jealousy although he doesn't know whom he's jealous of—Yukito or Naomi.  He wasn't able to dwell on this feeling because both Yukito and Naomi shouted, "ITADAKIMASU," then chomped on their burgers in unison.

Touya sighed.  _This is going to be a long day._

~Twenty minutes later~

Touya sat on his chair with his chin on his hand.  He was watching Yukito and Naomi for the past ten minutes with bug eyes.  They were racing on who gets to finish eating first.  His other classmates were surrounding the three of them, cheering both Yukito and Naomi (the girls were cheering for Yukito while the guys were cheering for Naomi).

_Man, she can really EAT_, Touya thought but doesn't think that this lapse of femininity was a turn-off.

Touya snapped from his thoughts when the cheers went wild.  Apparently, both Yukito and Naomi finished at the same time.  He saw them giving their classmates high fives.  After a while the onlookers dispersed and the three of them cleaned their desks.

"By the way," Yukito said to Touya, "we saw Sakura and her friends a little while ago.  Syaoran and Meiling Li are back."

"I know.  I saw them too," replied Touya.

"You did?  I thought you didn't want to go down today?"

"I didn't.  I saw them from up here."  Touya looked up from what he's doing when he realized he was being watched.  He turned around and saw Naomi smiling at him secretively.  Instantly, his senses started tingling.

"You must have an excellent eyesight to see a group of kids six stories below and across the school yard," she said quietly.

Touya opened his mouth to reply but stopped when he realized he didn't know what to answer.  He can barely say that he wasn't just relying on his eyesight just then.  He also has some spiritual powers to back him up.  Most of his powers are back because Sakura's power can now sustain Yue's life energy.  Nope. He can't say that.  Not to someone he just met and doesn't trust.  Although for some reason he was tempted to tell her . . .

_Rrrriiiiiinnnnggg!!!_  Saved by the bell.

Touya sat with relief.  He doesn't know what's happening to him but somehow he's losing some of the self-control he prided himself of.  _It's that smile of hers.  Why did she have to be so beautiful?_  He numbly watched their teacher enter the room and started her lecture.

After a while, the teacher announced that there will be a major project coming up which she will announce the next day and that they have to group each other in two's.  It wasn't a problem for Touya because he and Yukito were always partners.  But then the teacher announced that it should a boy-girl partnership.

Touya was surprised.  He looked at Yukito who was already being asked by the girl in front of him.  He then looked at Naomi.  She smiled at him and he blushed.  _Oh well_, he thought.  He stood up to ask her to be his partner but was run over by a stampede of boys, surrounding Naomi.  They were fighting over who gets to have her as a partner.

Touya hesitated but the desire to get to know her was irresistible.  _This would give me a chance to find out who she really is and what she's doing in Tomoeda_, he reasoned.  _Besides, I'll be doing her a favor of getting rid of this crowd._

He stood up from the ground and elbowed his way through the crowd.  When he reached her, he saw that she was sweatdropping a lot, confused at what was going on.  Touya cleared his throat.

"Naomi, would you like to be my partner," he asked.

"Hai, hai!" She said enthusiastically and sighed with relief.

He let out his own sigh of relief. He didn't notice that he was holding his breath, waiting for her to answer.  He looked up from her smiling face and saw that the other guys were shooting daggers at him.  He just grinned sheepishly and shrugged.  He sat down, satisfied with himself and waited for school to end.

~Later that afternoon~

Touya whistled as he walked home from school looking forward to spend some quality time on his own.  He didn't have to work today and Yukito stayed behind for his archery practice.  _Sakura could be home by now.  We could fix Otousan a delicious dinner._  He stopped and realized he was standing in front of the Tsukinini Shrine (_AN: Did I get that right?  Tell me if I wrote the wrong name for the shrine._)  He decided to go in and say hello to his old friend.

But someone has beaten him to the cherry blossom tree.  He saw Naomi standing in front of the tree with her hands on its trunk, talking softly.  To others it may seem weird for a person to talk to a tree, but to Touya it wasn't.  He talks to it himself.  But that's because he knows that the three is magical unlike the others in the shrine.

Touya gasped as he realized something.  A person had to have strong spiritual power to realize that the tree was magical.  He looked at Naomi suspiciously.  He remembered Kaho Mizuki.  This was where he first met her.  She has strong powers too.  Something he fully realized when Yue gave the final judgment to Sakura.  _Sakura…Naomi…Li.  Something is going to happen_, he said to himself.

He approached Naomi, determined to get answers from her.  She must have heard him because she turned towards him.  "Touya," she greeted.

This was the first time she said his name and to him it sounded heavenly.  He mentally shook his head when he realized where his thoughts were going.  He was determined to know what's going on.  "What are you doing here," he started.

"Visiting.  A friend of mine said that there's a beautiful tree in this shrine."

Touya looked up the tree.  It wasn't that beautiful compared to when its flowers are blooming.  "What friend?"  To his knowledge, she hadn't made any friends at school except for him and Yukito.

"She's an old friend of mine in England who came here a little over a year ago," she smiled making Touya forget about her "friend".  After a while Touya recovered his composure.

"You were talking to the tree.  Why," he again asked.

Naomi laughed softly, her laughter mixing with the sigh of the wind.  "Some people talk to their pet animals.  I talk to trees," she replied as she tucked a strand of hair that was blown by the wind.  "I love cherry blossom trees.  It reminds me of my mother.  She died when I was very young."

Touya suddenly felt like kicking himself.  What she said made sense.  And all he did was remind her of her mother.  _Maybe I'm overreacting_, he reasoned with himself.  _Or maybe I'm getting too soft._  Naomi interrupted his thoughts.

"Sakura is a special girl," she said.

"Hai!" he replied, confused by the sudden turn of their conversation.

"But it must be hard to take care of such special girl.  As her brother you must protect her from all kinds of harm," she said meaningfully as she walked away from him.

Touya's instincts suddenly flared up again.  "What do you mean," he started to ask but was interrupted when a strong gust of wind blew some dried leaves from the ground and into his face.  He looked down to prevent the leaves from hitting his eyes.  When the wind weakened he raised his head and looked around.

He was alone in the shrine.  Naomi has disappeared into thin air.  His senses told him that something evil is about to happen.  Strong and evil.  He ran outside to find Sakura.

~At the Penguin Park~

Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Meiling were sitting on the swings eating ice cream.  The latter two were dominating the conversation because Sakura and Syaoran were too quiet.  Meiling was telling Tomoyo what they did while they were in Hong Kong.

Sakura was thinking of Syaoran.  _I wonder if he still likes me.  It's been a while since we last saw each other.  He's too quiet.  What if he has found someone else to like in Hong Kong?  Maybe that's why he's quiet, because he doesn't know how to tell me that he wants the teddy bear back_, she worried.

Beside her, Syaoran was thinking a similar line of thought.  _I wonder if she likes me now.  She never did say it when we parted ways in the airport one year ago.  Baka, Syaoran_, he reprimanded himself_, she still has your bear right?  It must mean something._

After a while Meiling ran out of something to say.  She sighed thinking that her throat hurts a lot.  _If only Syaoran would speak out.  Hey, I know what I'll do_, she thought deviously.  She nudged at Tomoyo then winked at her, silently telling her that she was up to something.

"Hey, Sakura," Meiling swung forward to look at the girl.  "Do you still have Syaoran-bear?"

Both Sakura and Syaoran blushed from head-to-toe, wondering how Meiling found out that the bear was actually what they were thinking.

"Um, well, yeah.  I keep it in my room," she replied. "Why?"

"Oh nothing.  Do you know that Syaoran bought another stuffed bear just like the one he gave you?"

"Meiling, shut up," Syaoran shouted, his face burning up.

_So he did find someone else_, Sakura thought glumly.  She thought that Syaoran bought the bear so he could give it to someone else.

"He said that the bear reminds him of . . .ummph!"  Meiling stopped short when Syaoran stood up and stuffed the rest of her ice cream in her mouth.  She gulped continuously in order to remove it from her mouth.  "Why the heck did you do that for," she demanded from him.

"Because you didn't shut up when I specifically told to," Syaoran countered.

Sakura and Tomoyo sweatdropped as they watched Syaoran and Meiling shout at each other.  They weren't worried.  Those two always fight anyway just like the way she fights with her brother, Touya.

Just then Sakura felt something strange.  She looked around to see where the ominous power is coming from.  She guessed Syaoran felt it too because he stopped shouting at his cousin and started frowning.

The sky was darkening as black clouds quickly covered the sinking sun.  The wind started howling as its velocity increased.  They could hear thunder and see bolts of lightning from afar.

"Look out!"  Syaoran grabbed Meiling and Tomoyo and dragged them to safety.  Sakura jumped and stumbled to the ground.  She barely missed getting hit by the lightning that hit the ground.  She shook her head to clear her mind.

"Sakura, are you all right?" asked Tomoyo.

"I'm fine," she said.  She spoke too soon.  A black hole started forming on the ground where she knelt.  "Hoe!  What's going on?"

"Sakura, get out of there," shouted Syaoran.

But Sakura couldn't move.  The wind made it impossible for her to do so.  She was being pinned to the ground.  After a while a full-blown tornado was around her lifting her high above the ground.  The air was so thin inside the twister that Sakura felt herself losing consciousness.

"No!  I must fight this!"  She opened her eyes and saw Syaoran below.  He was taking out his sword.  _Syaoran…_His name was the last word she spoke before losing consciousness. 

_Sakura.  Sakura._  She opened her eyes, gaining consciousness as her name was called insistently.  She looked around and saw that she was floating in a sea of darkness.  "Hoe!  What happened?  Where am I?" she said.

She then remembered what happened at the park.  "Syaoran!  Tomoyo!  Meiling!" she shouted but all she heard were echoes of her voice.

"It's no use shouting," a high-pitched voice said.  "They won't hear you."

"Nani!  Who are you? What do you want from me?"  She turned from side to side, trying to pinpoint the voice.

"So you are the Card Mistress.  Yue is losing his touch.  Why else would you pass the final judgment?"

"How do you know Yue?"

"He and I were once friends.  But he was a traitor.  He destroyed my life.  Just like the way I'm going to destroy yours."

"Why would you do that?"

"For revenge.  Look at your little friends!"  An image appeared in front of her all of a sudden.  She saw herself floating inside a tornado and Syaoran was charging towards it with his sword poised to cut it.  He wasn't able to do so because the impact of the tornado threw him away.  "Syaoran!"

"Enough," Sakura shouted.  "You have no right to treat me and my friends like this."  With that she took out her magical key and chanted.  "O key which hides the power of the stars, reveal thy true form to me.  I, Sakura, command thee under contract . . .RELEASE!"

She grasped her wand and took out one of her Sakura cards.  She couldn't stand the darkness anymore.  "Light card!"

Light came out of the card and started illuminating the place.  But a swirl of darkness circled around The Light tightening slowly until she was bound by it.

"Is that all you can do?" the voice laughed.

"Return!"  Light transformed back into a card and Sakura pulled out another one.  "Fiery card."

Fiery flew around trying to find a target but to no avail.  It seemed like they were in an abyss.  The voice laughed again making Sakura quiver with fright, disgust and anger.  She tried other attack cards like Watery and Windy but all of them failed to find the source of the voice or at least break the dark dimension.

"You fool!  You pathetic little fool," a shadowy form suddenly appeared grasping Sakura's neck, squeezing it slowly.  Sakura lifted her hand to stop the dark hand from strangling her.  "You are so weak.  You do not deserve to own the Clow cards."

She was slowly losing consciousness, words echoing in her head.  _Pathetic...Weak...You do not deserve it._  Tears were pouring from her eyes.  _Keroberos!  Yue!_ She shouted in her mind.  She shouted it again and again until she finally fell unconscious.

~Back at the park~

_Syaoran!_  He heard her calling him.  Syaoran was desperate.  He tried attacking the tornado with his sword but it only threw him away.  _No!  I won't let you down, Sakura!_  He stood up using his sword as a cane.  His whole body is aching from the impact of his fall.

"Syaoran!  Are you okay?" Meiling asked as she and Tomoyo ran to his side.

"I'm fine.  Tomoyo did you call Keroberos?" he said.

"Yes, I did.  He is on his way," she replied.

The wind was starting to become more ferocious and the thunder was deafening.  "Take cover, both of you.  I can't help you and save Sakura at the same time."

The girls ran away from him and the tornado, anxiously waiting for some miracle to happen.  Syaoran took out an ofuda and shouted.  "Lightning, come to my aid!"

Bolts of lightning started hitting the tornado and after a while it subsided.  Syaoran was disappointed that his attack didn't work.  "Sakura!"  He turned and saw Keroberos flying towards them.  He quickly opened his mouth and breathed fire but that too has no effect.

He landed beside Syaoran.  "What the hell happened here?" he demanded.

"I don't know.  It all happened so quickly," Syaoran replied.

"What are you doing here, gaki?  You always bring trouble wherever you go."

"I'm not a gaki nor am I a troublemaker!"

"Whatever.  What are we going to do?  We don't have much time to save Sakura."  The guardian paced around the ground trying to find an opening on the tornado.  By then, Yue had arrived shooting shards of ice at the twister.

_Think, Syaoran, think!_  He forced on himself.  _What am I going to do?_  Just then he heard the wind whisper his name.  _What the...!  _He looked around to see if anyone was close by.  But no one was within twelve feet from him.

_Syaoran, _the wind whispered again.  _How do you stop a spinning fan, Syaoran?_

He must be losing his mind.  Not only was he hearing a voice, it was also asking a stupid question.  But was it a stupid question?  Syaoran quickly looked at the tornado, as it turned counterclockwise.  _I've got it!  It just might work!_

Syaoran took out another ofuda and cried out, "Wind, come to my aid!"  He raised his sword to release the power of the magic paper.  All at once a strong gust of wind hit the side of tornado.  He tried to hold the wind steady so that it was hitting only one spot at the middle.  It was working.  He could see that the twister was moving more slowly.  He could hear the others shouting their encouragement.

But after a while the tornado was getting stronger again.  Syaoran concentrated harder forcing all of his power into the ofuda.  _That's not enough_, the wind again howled.  _You are getting weaker.  You cannot save her with such a weak power._

"Then help me," he shouted back.  "Please help me.  I...we cannot lose her!"

There was no answer.  _Please_, he said in his mind.  He was getting tired, could barely stand up.

_You amuse me, Syaoran Li_, he heard the wind finally say.

Maybe it was because of his weak condition but Syaoran thought he saw a hand coming from behind him.  Its fingers gliding across the blade of his sword.  He blinked his eyes and saw something white flash against the hand.  And then it was gone.

The wind coming from the ofuda gained strength.  So much in fact that he was being blown away.  Keroberos grabbed Syaoran by his ankle while Yue was holding his shoulder.

The tornado was visibly weakening.  It wasn't long before Sakura started falling down since the tornado was no longer holding her up.  Yue and Keroberos started to move in order to catch her but they were too far away.

From the corner of their eyes they saw Touya running like hell.  He got underneath Sakura just in time to catch her,

"Sakura," he said as he laid her down the ground.  "Sakura, wake up!"  He saw her eyes slightly open then tiredly closes again.  He checked her wrist for her pulse.  The others were surrounding them; Tomoyo and Meiling were on their knees anxiously looking on, Yue was standing on the side holding Syaoran up while Keroberos was sitting beside them.

"It looks like she's fine," he told the others.  "But we should take her home right now."  Touya stood up carrying Sakura.  He started walking but then stopped.  Out of the corner of his eyes he saw someone walking through the woods behind the park.  It was dark since the sun was already setting.  All he saw was what looked like a dark uniform skirt and black curls.

~At an apartment few blocks away from the park~

"Tadaima," Naomi shouted as she entered the dark room.

"You're home early," said the dark figure sitting on a chair.  "How did it go?"

"Perfect," she smiled deviously.  "Everything is perfect." 

To be continued…


	4. Secrets

**Bishlov's notes:**  So sorry, people.  Got lazy ^_^0.  Not enough reviews to prod me into posting this.  Oh well…

**DISCLAIMER:**  I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

Kinomoto's Angel 

By bishounen lovah aka touya_mou

Chapter 4:  Secrets

An hour had already passed since the attack on Sakura happened.  She's upstairs resting in her bedroom with Keroberos and Yue at her side.  Tomoyo-chan was fetched by her bodyguards sometime ago taking Meiling-chan and the Chinese gaki with her.

Touya heard some sounds from Sakura's room even though he was already in the kitchen, chopping loudly.  He's making vegetable soup for Sakura.  _This would give Sakura some strength_, he thought.

They weren't successful in waking Sakura up.  She kept on sweating even though she didn't have a fever.  Aside from that she's been moaning on and off as if something has been plaguing her mind.

He chopped more furiously as he thought about what had happened.

~Touya's Flashback~ 

"...As her brother you must protect her from all kinds of harm," Naomi said meaningfully as she walked away from him.

Touya's instincts suddenly flared up again.  "What do you mean," he started to ask but was interrupted when a strong gust of wind blew some dried leaves from the ground and into his face.  He looked down to prevent the leaves from hitting his eyes.  When the wind weakened he raised his head and looked around.

He was alone in the shrine.  Naomi has disappeared into thin air.  His senses told him that something evil is about to happen.  Strong and evil.  He ran outside to find Sakura.

He first dashed to his home.  His hand was shaking so much that he had a hard time inserting his key in the keyhole.  When the door opened, he threw his bag to the floor racing towards Sakura's room, shouting her name.  But she wasn't there.  All he saw was Keroberos thumping enthusiastically on a computer game controller.

_She's not home yet_, he thought desperately.  _Where could she be?  Maybe she's still in school.  That's right!  She's on duty today._

He was so into his thoughts that he didn't notice Keroberos flying beside his head asking him what's wrong.  He ran back to the door leaving a sweatdropping sun guardian.

As he neared the school, he collided with Yukito sending them both to the ground.

"Itai," Yukito groaned as he rubbed his aching bottom.  "Douka shita no?  You look like you're being chased by a ghost."

_More like my conscience_, Touya shook his head to clear his mind.  _Calm down.  You're no good to Sakura if you ran about like an idiot._

"Yukito," he said as he helped the other boy up, "have you seen Sakura?"

"No.  Not since lunchtime."

Touya looked around to see if anyone was about.  "Yue," he then said, "Sakura is in danger."

All at once, Yukito glowed as wings appeared from his back, enveloping him.  When the transformation was complete, Yue stood before Touya as he looked around, trying to find the Card Mistress' aura.

"There's a dark force coming from the Penguin Park," Yue said.  "I'm sure Sakura-sama is there."  He held out his hand to Touya, beckoning him to come with him.

"You go ahead.  It will be faster for you to reach the park without me," Touya shook his head, "and faster for you to help Sakura."

"All right," Yue agreed. "But hurry.  This evil force is too strong.  Sakura-sama will need all the help she can get."  With that, Yue spread his wings and flew towards the Penguin Park.

Touya followed on foot.  In no time at all he was entering the park.  He saw his sister's unconscious body floating inside a tornado.  The Chinese boy was already using magic sending out wind to stop the turning twister.

_It's working_, he thought joyfully but then realized that the boy's power wasn't strong enough to fully stop it.  He started to run towards him to help but a gust of wind stopped him.

_Not yet_, the wind whispered.  _It is not your turn yet_.  The wind circled furiously around him making it hard to open his eyes.  When the wind ceased, he looked around and saw that he was nowhere near the park.  The wind brought him on the roof of Seijou High School.

"Kuso," he shouted before running back to Sakura.  By the time he reached the park the tornado was gone and Sakura was fast falling to the ground.

He ran faster then stopped just in time to catch his sister.

"Sakura . . ."

~End of Flashback~ 

"What are you doing?"  Yue was observing Touya.

"Chopping vegetables," Touya unconsciously responded.

"Well you'd better stop it before you chop something else."

Touya looked down and saw that he was one chop away from his fingers.  "Arigatou," he sighed.  He took the chopping board to the stove and emptied its content to the pan of soup.  He wiped his hands with a dishcloth and sat down at the table.

"Did you and Keroberos figure something out?"  All of them compared notes to what happened to them when they settled Sakura in her room.

"Only that we are facing two beings and that the evil force is very strong," Yue said referring to the force that attacked Sakura and the one that helped Syaoran.  "The one that caused the tornado was strong enough to empower the aura of the one that helped the boy.  That's why Keroberos and I were unable to detect another presence.  But I doubt that the power of the _Voice_ was weak and can easily be empowered.  Anyone who can create such great force of wind is bound to be powerful."

Touya thought about the retreating figure in the woods.  He didn't tell the others because he knew it was Naomi.  He wanted to handle her on his own.  It was no coincidence that what she said in the shrine coincided with what happened in the park.  _She had something to do with this, but what?_

Touya was distracted when he saw something light up at his side.  He turned and saw that Yue transformed back to Yukito.

"I'd better head home," Yukito said.  He was already aware of his secret identity and what he does, as Yue was with whatever Yukito does.  "Call me if you need me."

And with that he left the house.  After a while Touya went up to Sakura's room with the soup.  He rapped on the door twice before opening it.

"How is she?"

"I don't know," replied Keroberos.  "I think she's having a nightmare.  But no matter how much I prod her she won't wake up."

Touya sighed as he sat on the side of Sakura's bed.  "Sakura," he said as he shook her shoulder.  "Kaijuu, wake up! I made some soup for you and it is getting cold."  He sighed again as Sakura just kept on moaning.

"Tadaima!"  They heard someone shouting below.

"It's Otousan.  He's home.  I'd better go down and meet him before he suspects something."

"Go ahead.  I'll look after Sakura."  Keroberos transformed into his other self just in case Fujitaka-san looks in on Sakura.  He sat on Sakura's pillow and placed his hand on her forehead.

"Sakura," he said.  He noticed that she was now quivering.  Thinking that she was cold, he dragged the blanket so it would cover her from neck down.  It was then he noticed that there were bruises on her neck as if somebody strangled her.

"Kuso," he said under his breath.  _This is too much.  How dare they hurt Sakura.  When I see them I'll...I'll...what am I going to do?  Whatever it is that attacked us was powerful.  So powerful that it almost defeated Syaoran, Yue and me.  And Sakura._

Yue is right.  We must find out what we are dealing with in order to come up with a way to defeat it.

~Keroberos' Flashback~ 

"Now what's up with him," the Clow guardian wondered as he watched Touya dash out of the house.  He just shrugged and flew back to the television.  That was when he felt an evil aura.  He flew to the window and saw that the sky was covered with dark, menacing clouds.  "What's going on?"

Just then, the phone that Tomoyo gave her rang.  He quickly answered it.  "Hello?"

He heard Tomoyo blabbering something about the wind, the park, Sakura and something about flying.  "Tomoyo, I can't understand what you're saying."

He then heard the phone being snatched away from Tomoyo.

Keroberos.  This is Meiling.  We need you here in the Penguin Park right now.

"Meiling?  What the heck are you doing here?  Aren't you supposed to be in Korea or something?"__

Baka!  We're from Hong Kong.  Would you just shut up and come right away.  Sakura is in trouble.

"Well, why didn't you say so?"  Keroberos turned the phone off, flew outside the window and transformed into his original form.

When he reached the park Sakura was hanging in the air inside a tornado.  Bolts of lightning were hitting it but made no damage.  He breathed out fire in his own attempt but also failed.  Even Yue couldn't do anything.

Later when everything was over, the Clow guardians talked about what had happened as they watched Sakura's sleeping form.

"What are you thinking, Yue," asked the seal beast.

"That we got lucky.  I do not believe that the boy destroyed the evil force for it is too powerful.  The boy merely made a dent.  Whatever it was that attacked Sakura-sama will be back."

_Just as I thought_, Keroberos said to himself.  He always said to Sakura in the past that she shouldn't worry about her troubles.  Worrying wouldn't help her at all.  But he was worried now...for Sakura.

"What about the other one," he said to Yue.  "You cannot deny that whoever helped the _gaki_ was powerful too."

"I do not deny it," Yue replied.  "Although that _voice_ helped save Sakura-sama we cannot afford to trust it.  There must be bigger plot involved.  Nonetheless we cannot fight that we cannot see."

Keroberos glanced at Yue suspiciously.  He didn't like the tone of his voice.  It always means that he was holding something back.  "What is it, Yue?"

Yue looked confused as if he didn't know how to answer the question.  "I felt something very familiar in that evil force."

Keroberos waited for him to further explain but Yue just sighed.  "It is hard to say but I've felt that aura before.  I can't remember where," he paused and thought hard about it.

"It's no use," Yue said after a few minutes.  "I can't remember."

"It will come back to you, just wait.  However, I think we should keep this to ourselves.  It will do no good if we tell the others.  It will just add to their worries since we don't have an answer."

Yue nodded and headed for the door.  "I'll go now.  Perhaps a little quiet time with myself would trigger my memory."

Keroberos looked at the door close and stared at it for quite a while.  _I certainly hope so.  For Sakura's sake._

~End of Flashback~ 

~In an apartment nearby~

"Aren't you going to eat dinner," Meiling asked as she watched him climb the stairs.

"I'm not hungry," Syaoran said curtly.  He just wanted to lie down on his bed and rest his tired body.  He slammed the door of his bedroom and dropped on his bed, not even bothering to change his dirty clothes.

But try as he might he couldn't sleep.  He just kept on tossing and turning, worried as he was about Sakura.  _I wonder if she has woken up yet_, he said to himself.  Her stupid brother insisted that they all go home and promised that he'd call them if anything happens.  _What if he doesn't call me?  It's no secret that he doesn't like me.  Nah.  He'll call.  He may be stupid but he always keeps his promise.  And Yue was sure that Sakura would be all right.  Even though she kept on moaning while sleeping._

Syaoran punched his pillow then finally settled on his back with his hands tucked beneath his head.  That voice.  He closed his eyes and tried to recall the voice.  _How do you stop a spinning fan, Syaoran?_

_Where did it come from_, he wondered.  _Who was it?  WHAT was it?_  In all of his life he never heard the wind talk.  And he never knew that the wind have hands with the exception of the Windy Card.

He thought about the hand that increased the power of his ofuda.  He didn't tell anybody about this primarily because he didn't know if what he saw was real.  That voice and that hand.  They were both a mystery to him.

He knew that he shouldn't trust that being that helped him.  That doing so would be very dangerous in their current situation.  They don't know whom it was and how it came to know them.  And most of all, why it helped them.  It could be a lure to a trap.

_But then it couldn't_, Syaoran thought confusedly.  For some reason, he trusted that voice.  For some reason, he felt close to that voice.  That was his gut feeling.  _I also thought that I was more powerful now_, he snorted at himself, _which clearly shows how egoistic I am.  If nobody had helped me I would have lost Sakura._

Syaoran felt like shouting out in desperation so he grabbed his pillow and pressed it on his face to muffle the sound.  "Kuso!!!"

But he can still hear the voice.  _You are weak...you cannot save her with such a weak power...weak...weak...you are weak._

He couldn't stand it anymore.  He jumped up, took his sword and ran to the garden.  _I am not weak_, his mind shouted in defense.  _I won't rest until I become strong.  So strong that nobody would even think to touch a single hair on Sakura for he would face my wrath._

He threw himself into training.  He was so into it that he didn't notice that there was someone watching him.

~Back in Sakura's room~

"IYA," Sakura sat up on her bed reaching out for something.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Keroberos flew in front of her face, looking at her with a worried expression.  Hours had already passed since he stopped trying to wake her up.

"Aaahh," she said as she pressed her hands on her head.  It was aching so badly.  "What happened?"

"Don't you remember anything that happened this afternoon?"

Sakura looked around her room trying to think despite of her headache.  She stared at her window and remembered everything.  "The whirlwind!  We were attacked in the park and I was trapped in a whirlwind."

Before she could continue on, her door suddenly opened.  Touya entered the room carrying a tray of food.  "So the kaijuu is finally awake," he said.

"I'm not a monster!"  She was starting to feel a little better.  Well enough to shout at her infuriating brother.

"Well, then, don't shout like one.  Otousan is already in bed.  You might wake him up.  Here, I've brought you your dinner."

"Arigatou."  Sakura just stared at her food, not feeling hungry.

"Your appetite will come back if you took a sip of the soup.  You need to eat to bring back your energy."  Touya sat down by the desk staring at Sakura.  He wanted to make sure she ate every last morsel of food on the tray.

Sakura did what he said and sure enough she was eating enthusiastically.  The warmth of the soup was making her feel better.

"You had us worried, you know," Keroberos said.  He then proceeded to tell what happened in the park.  By the time he told everything, Sakura had already finished eating.

"I knew you guys would save me.  Arigatou," she smiled, unaware of the worried looks that her companions gave each other.

_She doesn't seem to realize that we almost failed to rescue her_, Keroberos thought although he didn't speak out what was in his mind.  "What else do you remember, Sakura?"

She looked down at her hands for a few seconds, trying to remember.  "I remember being sucked into that tornado.  I couldn't breathe well in there so I passed out.  Then I woke up in a dark place.  I don't know if I imagined it but it seemed so real."

"Go on," Touya urged.

"There was a voice.  A scary voice.  He said that he wants revenge," she paused as she recalled about the great hatred that she felt in that dimension.  "He said that he knew Yue."

"Nani," Touya said as he looked at Keroberos.  He was strangely quiet as if he was slowly digesting what Sakura said.

_So Yue was right in thinking that the dark aura was familiar_, Keroberos contemplated.  _This was somebody from his past.  This would make it slightly easier._

"He?  It is man then?"  Keroberos asked, ignoring a bug-eyed Touya.

Sakura thought for a while, trying to remember the sound of the voice again.  "I don't know," she finally sighed.  "I quickly assumed he was a man because I felt so much anger in him."

Touya and Keroberos couldn't help but sweatdrop.  "And how did you reach to that conclusion?"

"Well women are much more forgiving.  We rarely keep that much anger in our hearts since we cry and we can easily tell our problems to other people," she ticked off her fingers one by one as she made her point.  "Men aren't like that.  You hold grudge, you never cry and you rarely tell others of you problems.  You have that stupid macho image to uphold."

The two sweatdropped some more.  They were a little insulted at her thinking that men are much more capable of anger than women.  But they let her little observation go without complaint.  Some of what she said was true.

"Were you having a nightmare while you were sleeping?"  Touya decided to change the subject.

Sakura was surprised with the question.  "I—I can't remember," she said as she looked down and fingered the patterns of her blanket.

Touya looked at her suspiciously.  Sakura was a bad liar.  She was keeping something from them.  _But then so am I_, he thought.  Thinking that she too may have a reason for keeping something from them, he let the subject drop.

"Go back to sleep," he said as he walked to the door with the tray.  "You need to get some rest."

Sakura looked at her brother, slightly ashamed at lying yet relieved that he didn't prodded.  "Touya-niichan," she called out to her brother.

"Thank you," she said meaningfully.  He nodded and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Sakura lay back on her bed and closed her eyes.  She was too awake to go back to sleep but knew that Keroberos was watching her.  She pretended to be sleeping and after a few minutes Keroberos flew to his makeshift room and closed the drawer shut.

Sakura quietly got up and tiptoed to the window.  She looked blindly outside as she remembered her dreams.  It was the scariest dream she has ever had.  She saw that dream before when she was unconscious during Yue's final judgment.  

The dream when nobody loved each other.  Every person in this world coexisted with each other but love didn't exist in any of these relationships.

She was scared because her dreams are no ordinary dreams.  Her dreams are always a premonition.  A glimpse of what was about to happen.

She was scared because if this happen, nobody would love anyone anymore.  She wouldn't be able to love anymore:  her father and mother; Touya, Yukito, Tomoyo and Meiling; Keroberos and Yue.  And most especially, Syaoran.

_And Syaoran will never love me_, she closed her eyes as she remembered the last part of her dream.  She was running towards Syaoran, happy that he was back in Tomoeda.  But when she reached him he just walked by without even a glance at her.  He walked on and on until she could no longer see him.

Sakura felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"No!  I wouldn't let that happen," she whispered.  "I wouldn't fight it just because of Syaoran.  This world would be better destroyed rather than letting it exist without love.  Do you hear me?  Whoever you are, you cannot destroy love.  I will fight you till the end."

With that said, Sakura felt much better.  She'll use her powers to stop that evil force and she knew she would defeat him because she have her friends fighting beside her.

She went back to bed and slept a dreamless sleep.

~On a tree somewhere near Sakura's window~

"I trust Syaoran is doing well," he asked the newly arrived Naomi.  They were sitting on the branch watching Sakura as she stood in front of her window.

"As well as could be expected," she said.  "Your plan is working very well."

"They are all determined to fight," smiled at his companion.  "There will be another attack in a few days.  Let's see how they will handle that."

To be continued...


	5. Naomi Lee

**DISCLAIMER:**  I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

KINOMOTO'S ANGEL 

By bishounen lovah a.k.a. touya_mou

Chapter 5: Naomi Lee

~In Naomi's bedroom~

_Everything is working out perfectly_, she said to herself.  _Soon I'll have my revenge.  He will pay for causing so much unhappiness to my mother._

She stared out at her window, watching the leaves chase each other on the pavement.  She remembered the days when her mother would break her self-imposed silence and tell her about the days when she had everything.

Neilan Lee was once happy and carefree.  She was the sun and moon of her prominent family.  But all of those changed when she fell in love with the wrong man.  She trusted this man and gave her everything to him.  But in the end, he failed her.

That was when she stopped caring.  She didn't care when her beloved family disowned her.  Didn't care when she had Naomi.

At first it had hurt.  After all, a child always craves for attention and love.  She had first thought that the problem lies in her.  Maybe she wasn't cute enough or lovable enough that's why her mother barely notices her.

But then she realized that her mother couldn't help how she felt.  It was all the product of her father's doing.  He had not only failed Neilan but had also failed his, then unborn, daughter.

After her mother died, Naomi vowed on her grave that she would avenge her.  Nobody should have lived the way that she did.  _Soon, Okaasan_, she whispered.  _If my master's plans go well, your suffering won't go unavenged.  And Yue will finally realize his mistake._

She was still thinking about how she will get her revenge when she felt another presence in the room.  She glanced at her side and saw that she was being watched.

"You look unpleasant tonight," the other girl said.  "Why waste such a beautiful face with a frown."

Naomi had to smile at the irony of her words.  The older girl never failed to make her laugh.  She had been her best friend…her only friend for quite some time now.

"Now why would you look so sour…hmm," the girl seriously thought as she floated back and forth across the room.  "I know.  You've got a crush."

"I don't have any crush.  Never had, never will," Naomi snorted although she blushed a little when Touya's face suddenly flashed in her mind.

"Oh, come on.  You're not as tough as you pretend to be.  Neilan may be cursed to be incapable of love but not you.  Now who could it be…who could it be?  I know," she snapped her fingers again.  "It's Touya isn't it?"

"Now why would you say that?" Naomi asked trying her best to put on a scowl but found it hard since she was blushing madly.

"Aha!  You didn't deny it!"

"I didn't confirm it either."

"It doesn't matter.  You know you can't hide anything from me.  You're beginning to love Touya aren't you," the older girl said softly.  "It can't possibly be Yukito since he really is Yue.  You won't love someone who had been the root of your mother's unhappiness.  Am I right?"

Naomi thought about what the girl said.  She does find Touya handsome.  Every time she looks at him she always had this urge to brush his hair from his forehead so she could look at those beautiful dark eyes.  And she find his protectiveness towards his little sister endearing even though she thinks he won't be able to protect her from what is about to happen.

All of a sudden she remembered her mission.  She promised her master that she would just observe and not get involved.  And liking Touya Kinomoto is definitely getting involved.  From now on it is strictly business.  _I don't want to interfere with my master's plans_, she said to herself firmly.

The older girl watched her companion's soft expression harden with resolution.  She sighed as she touched Naomi's cheek.  "Why do you punish yourself so?"  And knowing that she will never answer, she hugged Naomi then vanished into thin air.

Naomi turned back to the window and stared outside again.  "It will be over soon," she whispered.

~The next morning~ 

"Ohayo gozaimasu," Naomi shouted as she ran to catch up with Touya and Sakura.  She stopped beside Sakura and smiled at the little girl.  She looked tired and her neck was wrapped with a pink scarf to hide the bruises.  Touya, as usual, was quiet yet observing Naomi's every move.  She decided to put his mind at ease.

"It's a beautiful morning, isn't it?  The sun is shining brightly and the birds are singing enthusiastically as if they know that nothing bad is going to happen today."  She saw Touya glance at her then at his sister.  He relaxed a little bit although she could sense that his suspicions are growing stronger.

_Touya isn't dense_, she said to herself.  _He knows I'm involved in yesterday's escapade.  After all, I did warn him at the shrine and I also let him see me in the woods.  If my master knows what I'm doing he might get mad.  But then it's no fun if I don't meddle in their lives a little bit._

"You're right, Naomi," Sakura said, breaking her trance-like silence.  "It is a wonderful morning."  Then she started humming as she skated the rest of the way to school.

They stopped at the entrance of Tomoeda Elementary School.  "I'll see you guys later!"  Sakura waved as she skated towards the hallway.  Naomi waved back.

When Sakura disappeared, Naomi faced Touya.  He was looking at her accusingly although he wasn't voicing out his suspicions.  She just smiled brightly and went on walking.  _I wonder what he's going to do next_, she giggled softly.  _This is going to be interesting._

Touya just stared at Naomi's back, unsure if he should trust her or not.  He could sense no aura from her that's why he can't be sure if she's evil or not.  _Not even Eriol Hiiragizawa and Nakuru Akizuki could totally hide their aura_, he recalled.

But something tells him that someone as beautiful as her could not be evil.  He wasn't just talking about outer beauty because that can be deceiving especially since she looks exactly like his mother.  _No_, he thought, _there's more to her than what meets the eye.  It's in her soft, melodious voice whenever she speaks, especially to Sakura.  Her voice was so kind like she's talking to a sister._

Touya felt a vein in his head pounding.  He was so confused.  From his experience, it was always wise to use his head while following gut instincts.  And it never gave him any trouble as it did now.  His mind tells him not to trust anyone he doesn't know but his gut feeling was telling him that Naomi is trustworthy.

_To hell with it_, he thought glumly.  He'll give her some more time to prove herself.  If she makes another suspicious move, he'll have to do something.  Do what?  He doesn't know.  He hopes that he won't have to reach that point.

They all (_AN:  i.e. Touya, Naomi and Yukito_) spent the day apart from each other although was aware of each other.  Touya became even more silent than usual, observing Naomi closely and looking at her as though she was some kind of Chinese puzzle.  Naomi, on the other hand, was keeping herself busy by talking to their other classmates much to the delight of the other boys.  She decided to keep a low profile so as not to arouse any more suspicions from Touya.

Even Yukito was not acting like himself.  He spaces out every moment that he gets and shows a little irritation when he was disturbed.  It seems like Yue's characteristics were overlapping Yukito's (_AN: Remember that Yukito and Yue are aware of each other in this fic_).

Keroberos called him this morning telling him about Sakura's dream.  It seems like he was right in thinking that whoever attacked her was from Yue's past.  All they have to do now was to remember who it was before he strikes again.

The problem was Yue couldn't think of who the person might be.  Having lived several lives now for the past century, he has met and fought with many people.  He wasn't exactly friendly and outgoing.

Try as he might, he can't pinpoint whose aura he felt yesterday.  And by the time lunchtime came, he reached only one conclusion: _I have to face the evil again in order to probe the aura even deeper._  Unfortunately, when this happens they would have to fight blindly again.  And they might not get lucky again next time.

~After lunch~ 

Touya's class was sitting on the school lawn for their class.  They were waiting anxiously for the teacher to tell them what their project is.  They were very curious because there was a huge crate on the ground.

"Okay, I want you to be with your partners and come to me when I call your names," instructed the teacher.  "I'll be giving a package for each pair.  You shouldn't open it until I say so.  Is that understood?"

One by one she called out her students and each pair got a box wrapped in brown paper.

"I wonder what this is," Touya wondered as they took their box and sat back on the grass.  He glanced at Naomi and saw that she was looking at the box suspiciously.  "Do you want to open it," he asked when the teacher told them to open it.

"No," she said quickly.  "You do it."

Touya just shrugged and tore the paper away.  "Nani!_"_  He looked around and saw that all of them got the same packages.  It seemed that everybody was surprised at what they saw.  Everybody except Naomi.  She had this weird expression as though her worst fear had come true.

"You may be wondering what this is," the teacher began as she picked up a box that contained a baby doll.  "This will be your project.  All of you would be playing house for two weeks.  You will be the parents and the doll would be your child," she paused as she let her students absorb what she said.

"Treat these dolls as you would treat your own babies.  This exercise would not only train you to be good parents but would also teach you how hard it is to have a child, especially at a young age."

"How would you grade us," Yukito asked.

"Good question.  Each doll has a built in microchip that records how often it cried for how long.  It also records if you're holding it wrong, just like what you're doing Kinomoto."

Touya was still shocked about having Naomi as his _pretend wife_ that he didn't realize that he was holding the doll upside-down on its feet.  He blushed when his classmates laughed at him.  He glanced at Naomi to see if she was also laughing but she was looking down with a sad expression on her face.

"When I said you should treat those dolls as you would a real baby, I meant it.  You can't throw it in the air.  You have to bring them to school and you can't leave them in your locker.  Those dolls should be with either both of you or one of you at all times.  I've already sent a letter to your parents explaining the project and they've all agreed to watch over you at home.  So you can't cheat.  Everybody is watching you including the other teachers and even local storeowners.  The instruction manual is inside the box.  In addition to those, you will have to write a daily journal.  You can write your feelings and experiences in being a teen parent."

With that she left her students to talk about the project amongst them.  Touya faced Naomi who was still looking so glum.  For some reason, he knew what she was thinking.

"You're thinking about your mother, aren't you," he asked softly.

Naomi looked at Touya in surprise but said nothing.  It was true that she was thinking about her but not in the way Touya thought.  _How am I supposed to care for a child (even if it is a doll) when my mother never cared for me?_

She was mostly scared of finding out that she wasn't the person that she thought she was.  She remembered her conversation with her friend last night.

You're not as tough as you pretend to be…Neilan may be cursed to be incapable of love but not you…

_I know that she's right but something is still holding me back_, she thought.

"What was your mother's name," Touya was observing the play of emotions on her face.

Naomi was again surprised.  Surprised enough to cut her line of thoughts.  "Neilan," she answered involuntarily.

"Neilan.  It's a pretty name," he smiled then raised the doll to his face.  "What do you think, kid?  Would you like to be called Neilan?"

Naomi felt different kinds of emotions.  Her heart feels like it's going to burst.  She knew that Touya was a caring man, especially when it comes to his sister, but she never realized how much until now.

"I think she likes it," he said as though the doll answered his question.  "From now on our child will be called Neilan."  Touya stood up with Neilan cradled in his left arm.  He outstretched his other hand to Naomi to help her up.

She took his hand and felt her skin tingle.  "Ano, Touya," she said softly.  "Arigatou!_"_

Touya just smiled and handed her the baby.  Naomi just looked at it for a long time but Touya's hands never wavered.  Finally, she felt the heavy load in her heart being lift away.  She touched the baby's face tentatively then slowly took her in her arms.  _She is kind of cute (for a doll)_, she smiled then looked back at Touya.

What she saw took her breath away.  Touya was looking down at them softly.  She felt another emotion in her heart.

_I'm in love with him!_

To be continued… 


	6. Sakura and Syaoran

**Disclaimer: **I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

KINOMOTO'S ANGEL 

By bishounen lovah a.k.a. touya_mou

Chapter 6: Syaoran and Sakura

Sakura skipped all the way from her locker to their classroom.  She feels happy despite her aching body.  She has to thank Naomi for cheering her up even though she doesn't know that she did.

She felt terrible when she first woke up this morning.  She didn't have any more nightmares after she went back to sleep last night but she kept on worrying about the one that she had before that.  Aside from that she had remembered something else while she was putting on her necklace where the magical key lay.  She remembered that her powers don't work on that evil force.  Even the strongest of her Sakura Cards couldn't open that dark dimension.

_What if he attacks again?  What would I do?  None of my cards work on him._  Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Naomi talk.

…Even the birds are singing enthusiastically as though they know that nothing bad is going to happen.

She was right.  The morning was beautiful.  And she didn't have to worry.  Keroberos once said that worrying won't help anyone and she agrees with that.

_From now on I'll stop worrying_, she declared to herself.  _Worrying won't solve anything.  As long as I have my family and friends, there is nothing to worry about._

"Ohayo," Sakura shouted as she opened the door.

"Ohayo, Sakura," Rika Sasaki greeted.  "You're happy today,"

"Why wouldn't I be?  It's a wonderful day!"

"I agree," said Naoko Yanagisawa.  "But why are you wearing that scarf?  Isn't it a little bit warm for that?"

"Um…well…you see…" Sakura stuttered for she didn't know how to answer her.  She certainly can't tell them that she's hiding bruises from yesterday's attack.

"Sakura, I'm glad you're wearing the scarf that I bought in Hong Kong," Meiling came to her rescue.

"Um, yeah," Sakura said as she shot Meiling a grateful look.  "I wanted to wear it for you.  It's so beautiful and I know that you had a hard time looking for a perfect gift for me."  Feeling uneasy at having to lie to her friends (and saying such an idiotic lie at that), she laughed off her agitation.

Meiling, Tomoyo and Syaoran sweatdropped.  Sakura was overdoing it a little bit.

After a while Naoko and Rika went on to greet their other classmates, leaving behind Sakura and the others.

"Daijoubu?" Tomoyo asked.

"I'm fine.  I feel great!"

Meiling leaned forward so her face was almost touching Sakura's.  This caused Sakura to sweatdrop.  "You don't look too great.  Maybe you should have stayed at home to rest."

"I'm fine really, Meiling.  Just a little bruised but that's all."  Noticing that Syaoran was looking at her quietly, she smiled at him.  "How about you Syaoran?"

Syaoran blushed and looked away.  He noticed that Meiling was inconspicuously dragging Tomoyo away so he and Sakura stood alone at the back of the classroom.  Knowing what Meiling was up to he blushed some more.

"I'm all right," he said quickly, realizing that Sakura was still waiting for his answer.

"Ano, Syaoran," she began.  "Arigatou_._  For saving me yesterday.  Keroberos told me everything last night."

"You must have heard wrong because I wasn't the one who destroyed the tornado," he said bitterly.  He heard the words that have been plaguing his mind again and again.

You are weak… 

"Iie_._  I know that you're the one who saved me.  If you hadn't asked for help I would have been dead by now," Sakura tried to console him but it seemed that she only made matters worse.  She saw his eyes flash with hurt then with anger before turning his back on her.

"Syaoran," she started to follow him but was stopped by Meiling.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura.  He's not mad at you.  He's been in a foul mood since last night."

"Demo..."

"Just leave him alone for a while so he could fight his own demons," Meiling insisted.

Sakura eventually agreed even though she didn't understand what her friend meant.  She walked past Syaoran's desk and cast a worried look at him before quietly sitting down on her chair.

Syaoran saw this and instantly felt guilty at what he did.  He wasn't angry with her.  It's just that her words hit a sensitive nerve.  It was like rubbing salt on open wounds.  No.  He wasn't angry with Sakura.  He was angry with himself.

He spent most of the night training so he would be stronger.  So he would be ready when that evil force strikes again.  So he wouldn't have to ask anybody's help in order to protect his beloved.

That was all he could think about for the rest of the day.  At lunchtime he was the first to run out of the classroom.  He sneaked out of the school grounds and ran towards the woods behind it.  _I need to become stronger_, he said as he jumped from tree to tree.

By the end of lunchtime, he wearily walked back to his classroom.  His clothes were already dirty and the backs of his hands were bloody from punching a tree bark, using it as a makeshift punching bag.

Sakura felt him nearing the door.  She was worried about him so she ran to let him in.  Sakura gasped at what she saw.

"Syaoran!  Daijoubu?"  Meiling had already told them that her cousin spent the whole night training and was probably training again during lunchtime.

"This is nothing," he said as he slumped on his chair and looked up at the ceiling.  From the corner of his eyes he saw Sakura talking to Tomoyo and Meiling before the latter two left the room.

"Where are the others," he asked noticing that the room was empty except for them.

"Math class was cancelled so they went to the gym to play."  Sakura walked to Syaoran's side and knelt on the ground.

Syaoran was dumbstruck and could only stare at Sakura's bent head.  She untied the scarf on her neck and tore it in half.  Then she took his right hand and gently wrapped it with a piece of the scarf.  She did the same with his other hand.  When she was finished, she held both hands and stared at it for a long time.

"Ano," he said.  Not that he minded that Sakura was holding his hands.  On the contrary, he didn't want the moment to end.  It's just that he wanted to apologize for his rude behavior that morning.

"You should be more careful next time."  Sakura smiled up at him but he could see tears in her eyes.

Syaoran moved his hands so _he_ could hold her hand.  He stared deep into Sakura's emerald eyes.  "Gomen ne," he said.  "I'm sorry for being rude this morning.  And I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Most of all," he continued after a brief pause, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you on my own.  I wasn't strong enough to save you on my own."

"Baka!"  She jumped on him so she could bury her face on his chest.  They almost fell if it hadn't been for Syaoran's fast reflex.  He quickly stood and pulled Sakura up with him.

Sakura started crying.  Syaoran felt uncomfortable because he knew that he was the one who made her cry.  He wrapped his arms around her shaking figure and waited for her tears to stop.

Minutes have passed before Sakura stopped crying.  They just stood there, both of them not wanting to move.

"You're not the weak one," she said.  Syaoran had to bend his head some more because his shirt muffled her voice.  "My cards didn't work on him.  None of them did.  Keroberos told me that his powers didn't work either and as well as Yue's."

"Yours was the only power that worked.  You were the strongest among all of us.  Can't you see that?"  Sakura quickly raised her head when she said the last sentence.  She looked at his dirt-streaked face and saw that their noses were almost touching.

Both of them blushed but neither moved.  Sakura looked deep in Syaoran's amber eyes as he looked in her emerald eyes.  Their heartbeats slowed down as though making way for something to happen…

"We're back!"  Meiling shouted as she opened the door.

(AN: Hehehe.  Sorry guys!  Call me old fashion but I don't think it's proper to let elementary students kiss.  Better luck next time.)

Syaoran and Sakura jumped away from each other.  She looked outside the window as if something had caught her eye while Syaoran looked up at the ceiling and started to whistle.

Meiling and Tomoyo sweatdropped.  "I think our timing was off," Tomoyo whispered to Meiling who nodded in agreement.  They walked in the room and placed a basinet full of water on Syaoran's table.

"What's that for?" asked Syaoran.

"You need to wash up before the next class starts or you'll be in big trouble," Meiling said.

"Here.  Use this."  Sakura handed Syaoran her pink handkerchief.

"Arigatou."  Their fingers brushed when he took the hanky from her and immediately their cheeks started burning up again.

"I should have brought it with me," Tomoyo sighed as they watched Syaoran rub his face with the wet hanky.

"Brought what?" Meiling asked.  They were far enough from the two lovebirds so there was no need to whisper.

"My camera!"  Tomoyo raised her hands to her cheeks and stared dreamily at Sakura and Syaoran.  "This would have made a great addition to my collection."

Meiling's eyes animatedly turned into two dots with her eyebrows drew into a vee.  "You're weird, do you know that?"

~After school~ 

Syaoran, Tomoyo and Meiling were walking Sakura home just in case there was another attack.

"By the way Sakura," Tomoyo said, "I want to show you something."  She pulled out a folded paper from her pocket and handed it to Sakura.

Sakura unfolded it and read the content.  "Hoe!"  Sakura shouted in delight and stopped skating.

"What is it?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura turned the paper around so her friends can read it.  "It's a flyer for the Bear Festival this year."

Syaoran's face turned red as he recalled the festival that he attended with Sakura, Tomoyo and Eriol last year.  That was the day Eriol trapped him and Sakura in an elevator.  That was the day when he realized that he really did love Sakura and not Yukito.  His face turned a shade deeper as he remembered.

"It's at the Tsukimine Shrine on Saturday," Meiling read.  "That's tomorrow right?  Ooh.  Can we go?  Onegai!  I wasn't able to attend the festival last year."

"I don't know.  It could be dangerous.  The enemy might attack tomorrow," Syaoran said worriedly.  When he heard no protests he looked at the girls in front of him.  Their eyes were big and shiny and their mouths were quivering as though they were preventing themselves from crying.

He sweatdropped and sighed.  "Yare yare.  All right but we have to bring Keroberos and Yue with us.  Just in case."

"Can I ask Oniichan to come too?"  Sakura asked, looking hopeful.

"Why not," he said even though he didn't like the idea of bringing Sakura's stupid brother.

"Yay!  We're going to the Bear Festival tomorrow!"

To be continued…


	7. Fujitaka Meets Naomi

**Disclaimer:**  I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

KINOMOTO'S ANGEL 

By bishounen lovah a.k.a. touya_mou

Chapter 7: Fujitaka meets Naomi

"Tadaima!"  Sakura removed her blades at the door then went directly to their kitchen.

"You're home early," Fujitaka said, looking up from his cookbook.

"Hai_._  I wanted to help you cook tonight's dinner."

"That's good because we're cooking something special tonight," he said as he took a chicken out of the freezer.

"Why?"  Sakura wanted to know thinking that she might have forgotten an important occasion.

"No reason at all," Fujitaka laid his hand on Sakura's head and smiled at his daughter.  "I just wanted to fix something special for my special family.  It seems like you and Touya had been pretty occupied lately."

Sakura smiled back at her father and told him that she'll help him in a minute after she changed her clothes.  She ran upstairs to her room and threw her bag on the floor unaware that Keroberos was flying below it.

"UMPH!"  Keroberos was flattened on the floor by the bag.  He pushed it off him and started to shout at Sakura.  "Hey!  Watch where you throw your things…" He couldn't continue his tirade because Sakura's uniform landed straight on his face.

By the time he uncovered himself, Sakura was kneeling in front of him.  "Why are you hiding under there," she asked the guardian as she gathered her used clothes.

"Because if I didn't, God knows what else you're going to throw at me," Keroberos sweatdropped as he rubbed his bandaged forehead.

"Gomen ne.  I have to go down and help Father with dinner."

"Dinner!"  Keroberos stared at Sakura with starry eyes.  "What's for dinner?"

"You know what?  I forgot to ask," she laughed sheepishly.

"It doesn't matter.  So long as Fujitaka-san makes it, it's bound to be delicious," he said as he licked his mouth and rubbed his belly.

"Oh, by the way," she said as she was about to open her door, "we're going to the Bear Festival tomorrow.  You have to promise to behave."

"When did I ever misbehave?"

"Last weekend at the mall."

"Well, can you blame me," Keroberos demanded.  "There were so many pastries in that store and you wouldn't even give me one."

"You'd better not make any commotion tomorrow or else I just might consider tying you up in my bag."

"Well if you're just gonna tie me up I'd rather not go with you," he said defiantly while floating in a sitting position with his arms and legs crossed.

"But you have to come.  Syaoran said we couldn't go unless you and Yue come too.  You know, just in case there is another attack."

"And who does that gaki think he is?!  He can't order us around!"

"Would you rather not go?"

Keroberos thought for a while.  Much as he hate to admit it, the gaki was right.  They should all stick together since they don't know when the next attack will happen.

"Okay.  I'll go with you but only if you bring me a larger serving of Fujitaka-san's cooking."

"All you ever think about is food."  Sakura sweatdropped as she left her room.

~At Seijou High School~ 

"Are you sure you can handle Neilan alone?"  Touya asked Naomi.  They have to go to a local baby store to get the baby clothes that the school rented for the project.  Unfortunately Touya has a soccer game and they couldn't wait to get the stuff after the game since the shop closes in an hour.

So Naomi volunteered to take care of Neilan for the afternoon and get the baby stuff in town.  Then she'll be dropping off the doll and the clothes at Touya's house since it was his turn to take care of Neilan for the night.

"We'll be fine," Naomi blushed.  They were both taking the project seriously.  Both of them were acting as though they were really married.  She had already accepted the fact that she's in love with him although she still needs to get used to the idea.

"Alright then, I'll see you later," he laid a hand on Neilan's head then rushed towards the soccer field.  He stopped halfway and turned to Naomi to wave goodbye.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me now, Neilan."  The baby store was a bit far but she didn't mind the walk.  It would give her a chance to clear her head.

But try as she might she couldn't think of anything (or anyone) else but Touya.  She knew that falling in love with him would affect her mission but it was already too late.

He caught her off guard with his affectionate nature.  Not once in her life had any person shown genuine kindness towards her.

_That's not true though.  My master is good to me.  He treats me not only as a friend but also as family.  But, still, with Touya it's different_, she sighed.

"I'll worry about Touya later.  But now we have to get you some stuff, Neilan," she said to the baby doll.  She had already noticed that some people were staring at her.  _Probably wondering why a big girl like me is still playing with a doll._

She just smiled at them and went on walking not bothering with the weird looks that she's getting.  She reached the store twenty minutes later and went in.  "Konichiwa," she said to the lady behind the counter.

The storeowner took one look at her and Neilan then laughed softly. Naomi raised an eyebrow in question.  She was a little bit offended because she had somehow grown protective of Neilan.  (AN: I know that it sounds weird.  Remember that she's emotionally deprived so give her a break.)

"Gomen nasai," the storeowner apologized.  "I wasn't laughing at you.  I was just glad that somebody is taking this project seriously.  The other kids that came by weren't and I was beginning to think that this project might be a complete waste.  And then you came in…"

Naomi couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.  _Maybe I am going too far_, she thought.  Now that the wall blocking her heart was torn down, she couldn't stop the surge of emotions coming out.

_I am my mother's child.  I inherited her loving nature.  That is, before she was cursed._  Naomi decided that she shouldn't be embarrassed.

"Ano," she began, "do you have the stuff for Neilan?"

The lady's smile grew tender as she heard the doll's name.  _Such a nice and pretty girl_, she thought as she looked at Naomi.  "I have them in the back.  Wait here for a minute."

Naomi looked around the shop as she waited.  She never knew that babies need lots of things.  She absorbed everything as she went from shelf to shelf.

"Here it is," the storeowner said as she came back.  She was holding a box and a bag of baby clothes.  Naomi knew that the school only rented the clothes so she looked enquiringly at the storeowner when she was handed the box too.

"That's something extra from me," she whispered secretively to Naomi.  "It's nice to see that some young folks don't think babies are jokes."

"Arigatou," Naomi blushed.  She wasn't used to being complimented on something other than her beauty.  She laid Neilan on the counter and opened the box.  She took out the item and held it in front of her.  She wasn't quite sure what it was for.

"It's a baby carrier," the lady said.  "Here, let me help you with that.  It's like a backpack.  You can wear it in front or on your back."  She slipped the straps over Naomi's arms and adjusted it so the baby carrier fit snugly against her chest.

"I used one of these when my son was just a baby.  Carrying a baby in your arms all the time can get tiring," she chatted on as she placed Neilan in the big pouch.  "See.  Now you can use both of your hands."

Naomi looked like she was given a brand new Porsche or something.  She had to admit that it was a relief to have Neilan out of her arms.  She smoothed the doll's fiber hair and pressed its body closer to hers, unaware that the lady was watching her.

"You are going to be a great mother someday," said the lady.  "Your partner is very lucky."

Naomi blushed anew at the praise.  She fervently hoped that the storeowner was right.  "Arigatou," she thanked her again.  "I will take good care of your things."

"I know you will, child."

With that, Naomi slightly bowed to the lady and left the store.  She began walking towards the Kinomoto residence.  Her arms gently swinging as she walked, her schoolbag in one hand and the bag of baby clothes on the other.  She hummed the piano piece that her master loved to play all throughout the walk.

She was about to ring the doorbell when she sensed three different auras in the house.  She was good at sensing auras and excellent in hiding hers.  It was an ability that even her master can't compare to.

One was definitely Sakura's.  The other must be Keroberos'.  But the third…Naomi smiled deviously as she realized to whom the last aura belong.  _So Fujitaka-san is here.  This could be interesting_, she said to herself as she rang the doorbell.

It was Sakura who opened the door.  "Naomi-chan!"  The girl blushed as she reacted to Naomi's hidden power 

"Hey Sakura," Naomi smiled.  She could sense Fujitaka-san coming closer.

"Who is it, Sakura," Fujitaka asked as he reached the hallway.  He stopped halfway when he saw a girl that looked like Nadeshiko at the door.  Sakura giggled at her father's stunned expression.

"Otousan, I'd like you to meet Naomi Lee.  She's new here in Tomoeda.  Naomi-chan, this is my father Fujitaka Kinomoto"

"Sumimasen.  Touya had already told me last night about you but your resemblance to my wife is still astonishing," Fujitaka smiled apologetically.

"It's okay.  I'm used to being stared at.  It is a pleasure to meet you Kinomoto-san_._"  Naomi bowed in respect while holding Neilan close to her chest.

"Hoe!"  Sakura exclaimed as she noticed the doll.  "Why are you carrying a doll?"

"It's a project at school.  We are supposed to take care of it for two weeks.  The project is supposed to give us an idea on how hard it is to have a child," Naomi explained to Sakura and saw Fujitaka nodding.

"The school did send a letter about this project.  I take it Touya is your partner?" he asked.

"Hai.  Is he home?  He's supposed to take care of _Neilan_ tonight."  Naomi emphasized the name of the doll for Fujitaka's benefit.

And she wasn't disappointed.  She saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes as he pieced the puzzle together.  He shot a worried look at Naomi then at Sakura.

(AN: Okay, okay. I'll clue you in a bit. I know that this fic is getting confusing.  Sakura and Touya didn't tell their father about Sakura's "extra curricular activities".  What they don't know is that Fujitaka knows that his daughter is the Card Mistress but didn't tell them that he knows. He he.  Looks like my explanation is a bit confusing too.  Read on…)

"No.  I guess his game is not over yet," Sakura replied, unaware of the silent conversation that's going on between her father and Naomi.

"Why don't you come in and wait for him inside," Fujitaka said to the girl.  "On second thought, why don't you have dinner with us?  Sakura and I are making chicken curry."

"Are you sure?  I wouldn't want to impose my presence at you," she said knowing that her appearance had already caused him to recall his past.

"Hai, hai.I would like to hear some things about you.  After all, it isn't everyday that I meet someone who resembles Nadeshiko," he said.

"Okay," she went in and followed the two to the kitchen.  She laid her bags on the corner of the room.  "Can I help?"

"Well, you and Sakura can make dessert while I finish up with the chicken curry."

"That's a great idea, 'tousan," Sakura exclaimed.  She was glad that Naomi was eating here.  For some reason she always feel happy whenever she was around.  "So what are we going to make?"

"How about some tarts?"  Naomi said after she thought for a while.

"Okay but you have to teach me.  I don't know how to make one."

"It's really easy." Naomi adjusted the baby carrier so that the baby doll was on her back instead of her chest.  She told Sakura what they would need and helped her gather the ingredients.  Fujitaka went on with cooking the curry, glancing and smiling at the girls once in a while.

As they were baking the tarts, Neilan started crying.  "Hoe!"  Sakura yelled because she was surprised.  "That doll can cry?"

"Yes," Naomi replied as she took Neilan out of the carrier and placed her in her arms.  She then pressed the button on the doll's hand that signifies that she was tending to whatever the baby needs.

"How come you're not releasing the button?" Sakura asked.

"Because babies don't immediately stop crying if you just pick them up," Fujitaka answered.  Why don't you show Sakura, Naomi-chan."

Naomi released the button and the doll immediately started crying again.  She pushed the button again to stop the sound.

"That doll is programmed to act like a baby, or at least, cry like one.  I remember when you were a baby you would cry in the middle of the night.  Your mother would hold you for hours because the minute Nadeshiko thinks you're asleep and lays you down on the crib you would start crying again," Fujitaka reminisced.

"Really?"  Sakura was about to ask some more but Naomi released the button again, checking if Neilan is "asleep" but she wasn't so she held the button down again.

"What did you say the doll's name is again?" Sakura asked Naomi.

"Neilan." 

"Doushite?"

"Neilan was my mother.  She, too, died when I was young."  Naomi said looking directly at Fujitaka.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said.

"Do you miss her too?  I didn't know my mother that well but I miss her sometimes.  I feel like I know her very well though because Otousan and Oniichan tells me stories about her," Sakura said.

"From what your father told earlier, it seems like your mother loved you very much," Naomi purposely evaded Sakura's question.  She doesn't miss her mother.  Instead, she longed for the love that her mother could have given her if she wasn't cursed.  But she still loved Neilan despite of her shortcomings.

Fujitaka saw the sadness in Neilan's eyes.  He felt sorry for the girl for he had an idea what kind of childhood she had.

(AN: Another intrigue?  Don't worry.  You'll understand everything by Chapter 11.)

"Sakura, why don't you set the table," Fujitaka attempted to change the subject.  "Lay another plate for Yukito too.  He might want to eat here."

"Hai!"  Sakura hurriedly complied with her father's orders missing the looks Naomi and Fujitaka gave each other.

 "Tadaima!"  They heard Touya shout from the door.  He entered the kitchen a while later with Yukito behind him.

"Hey Naomi!"  Yukito greeted.

Touya looked around the room in surprise.  He was so thirsty he didn't notice Naomi sitting on the chair nearest the door.  He was shocked anew when he saw the picture she and Neilan were projecting.  Instantly his mind flashed the memory of his mother holding baby Sakura in her arms and smiling softly at him.

"What?"  Touya jumped when his father laid a hand on his shoulders.

"Sakura was asking you how your game went," Fujitaka said with his eyes gleaming and his eyes knowing.

Touya blushed at being caught daydreaming.  He drank the glass of water he was holding continuously to wet his suddenly dry mouth.

"We won," he answered Sakura's unheard question.

"That's great!" replied Sakura.

"But they almost lost," Yukito butted in.  "You certainly weren't playing your best, Touya.  It seemed like your mind wasn't on the game."

"Really?"  That was the first time Sakura heard that her brother wasn't that good in the soccer field.  "What were you thinking?"

All eyes were on Touya.  Sakura and Naomi were looking at him curiously waiting for him to answer while his father and Yukito were looking at him smugly because they knew the answer.

Finally, Fujitaka took pity on his son and changed the subject yet again.  "Sakura.  Naomi.  I think your tarts are almost done."

The girls went to peer in the oven.  Touya took the chance to glare at Yukito.  His best friend just smiled back.  _If I knew he's gonna be a pain, I never would have told him how I felt about Naomi_, he thought.

"It is done.  Could you take it out of the oven Sakura?"  Naomi said.  "Be careful.  It's very hot."  She reached out when Sakura almost tipped the tray over.  That instant Neilan cried again.

"Here.  Let me take her," Touya said as he posed to take the doll out of Naomi's arms.  Their hands brushed against each other and a jolt of electricity ran through their bodies.  They took their hands away and again Neilan cried.

"Why don't I take her?" Fujitaka said as he scooped the crying doll from Naomi.  "It would give me a chance to get to know my first grandchild."

Sakura giggled when her father winked at her.  She noticed that her brother and Naomi were blushing furiously.

"I'm going to change," Touya said then went to his room.

"Would you like to see my room, Naomi?" Sakura asked.

"Sure."  She followed Sakura to her room relieved at getting out of that awkward situation.  She felt Keroberos' aura getting stronger as they neared the room.  _At last, I'll be able to see the Seal Beast_, she thought excitedly.

Naomi also noticed that Sakura kept on talking in a loud voice and kept on saying her name.  This was to warn the Keroberos that she was bringing somebody up.

As soon as she entered the room, she zeroed in on the source of aura.  She saw the alternate form of the guardian lying on the floor in front of a video game controller.  The TV was on and its screen was flashing "Game Over."

"Oh dear!  I forgot to turn the game off," Sakura sweatdropped and rushed to turn the TV off.  She picked Keroberos off the floor and carried him as though he was a stuff toy.

"That's a cute one," Naomi said as she bent over to look more closely at Keroberos.  She stared at him without blinking, waiting for him to flinch.  This went on a long time making Sakura and Keroberos to sweatdrop nervously. 

"So this is your room," she straightened thinking she already gave them a hard time.  She looked around the room as she heard Sakura sigh with relief.  _This room looks bigger when you see it from the inside rather than outside_, she thought.

She went to Sakura's window and stared at the tree where she and her master stayed last night.  "You have a beautiful view from here."

"You're lucky, Sakura," she said after staring outside some more.  "You have wonderful family and friends who would do anything for you."

Sakura stared at Naomi in wonder.  That was exactly what she thought last night after staring outside.  And for a moment, Sakura thought that Naomi looked sad.

"What is your family like?" Sakura asked, curious at what could have made her sad.

Naomi thought about her master and her best friend.  The former was a conniving sorcerer who loves to spy on people while the latter was a ghost who pops in and out of her life.  Not exactly a normal relationship but they're all the family she has.

Just then someone knocked on the door.  Sakura went to open it.

"Father wants you to come down for dinner," Touya said as soon as the door opened.  He glanced at Naomi who was still staring outside the window.  "Naomi," he called out.

"Naze?"  She replied absently.

"Dinner."

"Hai!"  She finally snapped out of her thoughts and followed Sakura out of her room.  She noticed that Touya was carrying a big shoebox with a throw pillow in it.  As soon as they entered the kitchen/dining room, he took Neilan from his father and laid her in the box.

"It's not a crib but it will do," he said as he placed the box on the counter.

Naomi was the last to sit on the table.  Fujitaka sat on the head of the table with Touya and Sakura at his either side.  Yukito sat beside Sakura leaving the chair beside Touya empty for her.

She barely noticed that Touya was again shooting daggers at Yukito who was grinning mischievously.  The photo frame beside her took her attention.  She picked it up and stared at it.

"You look exactly like her don't you think?"  Fujitaka stated.

"Do I?"

"Hai!"  Sakura answered for her father.  "That's why Oniichan and I couldn't believe it when we bumped into you yesterday."

"Iie.  I think she's much more prettier."  Naomi placed the picture back on the table.  "Itadakimasu!"

"Hai, hai!"  Yukito nodded in agreement.

They both took their bowls of rice and started eating enthusiastically.  Fujitaka and Sakura just stared at them, dumbstruck at the healthy appetite of Naomi.

"You'd better start eating too before they finish all of the food," Touya advised his family, calmly eating since he already knew about Naomi's eating habit.  Fujitaka and Sakura nodded in unison still staring at Naomi and sweatdropping madly.  After a while, the two started eating although were still glancing at their guests from time to time.

"So who are you with here in Japan, Naomi?"  Fujitaka said to start a conversation.  He also wanted to know more about the girl.

"My grandfather," she replied after a moment's pause.  Although they weren't directly related, she regards her master as her grandfather.  She looked at Fujitaka to see if he knew what she meant.  And he did.

"And how is your grandfather?" he asked as though he knew the man.  Touya thought his father's question was unusual.

"As well as could be expected.  He's having a little problem with something but I'm helping him out," she said meaningfully.

"Perhaps I could help," Fujitaka offered.

"Perhaps.  But not yet.  He's hoping to solve the problem soon."

Touya's senses were flaring up again.  It was as if the two were talking in a different language only they knew.  He could understand it if it was only Naomi.  He had gotten used to her encrypted messages.  But his father was acting strange all of a sudden.

Touya looked at Yukito to see if he noticed something.  But as expected, he was so busy eating he probably didn't even hear the conversation.  He didn't bother to look at Sakura.  She's too young and too dense to notice their father's strange behavior.

After that the conversation stopped.  Both Fujitaka and Naomi had grown quiet.  Touya didn't know what Naomi was thinking but he knew the look on his father's face.  It was the look that says he was worried about something.  _Or someone_, he thought quickly glancing at Sakura.

He dismissed the idea as soon as it formed.  They never told their father about their powers or the Clow cards.  He couldn't possibly know that something was up.

"That was delicious, Otousan," Sakura exclaimed minutes later.

"Hai!"  Yukito and Naomi said in unison.

"I'll get the dessert."  Touya stood and got the plate of tarts on the counter.  When he turned back to the table Naomi was standing up.

"Gomen nasai.  I hate to eat and run but I forgot that we have guests arriving some time tonight," Naomi bowed apologetically at Fujitaka.

"Do you have to?" Sakura asked, beating Touya to the question.  He didn't want her to leave yet.

"Gomen ne.  My grandfather would really mind if I wasn't there to greet his guests."

Knowing that she wouldn't be persuaded to stay, he went to her side and said, "I'll walk you home."

"Iie.  You don't have to."

_But I want to_, he thought though not saying it out loud.  Instead he just picked up her bag from the corner and waited for her at the door.

"Okay.  Arigatou Kinomoto-san," she then turned to Sakura and Yukito.  "Oyasumi nasai."

But before they could leave the room, Sakura shouted, "Wait!"

Naomi turned back to the girl.  "There's a Bear Festival tomorrow.  My friends and I are going.  So are Oniichan and Yukito.  Would you like to come with us?"

Touya sweatdropped.  This was the first time he had heard about the Festival and he certainly didn't agree on coming.  _But if Naomi is going, I'm going_, he said to himself hoping that she would say yes.

Naomi thought for a while.  She looked first at Sakura, then at Fujitaka and Yukito, and finally at Touya.  All of them seem to want her to go.  _This is isn't in my master's plans but what the heck._  "Okay," she smiled at Sakura.

"Yay!"

"Until tomorrow then," she said then walked out of the room followed by Touya.

Neither of them talked for a few minutes but Touya kept sneaking glances at Naomi.  The last time he did that he saw that her mouth was twitching upwards as though she found something amusing.

"What are you thinking?" he asked curiously.

"That we left Neilan on your kitchen counter."

"Mou," he sighed.  "I knew we forgot something."

Neilan's soft laugh echoed through the night.  Touya found it very appealing.  He sneaked another glance at her but this time he saw that she was looking back at him.

Feeling guilty at being caught staring at him, Naomi blushed.  She didn't notice that the darkness of the night had also covered Touya's blush.  They stopped walking when they reached Naomi's apartment.  Touya looked up and saw that all the lights were off.

"Looks like your visitors are not here yet," he said.  But then he noticed that the curtain in one of the rooms moved.  He suddenly felt an intense aura.  A familiar aura.

And then he understood.

He looked at Naomi but her face revealed nothing.  _It doesn't matter,_ he thought.  _Everything will soon be over._

"Neilan and I will pick you up at ten tomorrow morning."  He gave her her bag and whistled as he walked back home.

Naomi watched Touya's back until he disappeared into the night.  She glanced at the window on the second floor then went in to find her master.

She went upstairs not bothering to turn on any lights.  When she entered the room she immediately zeroed in on the figure that was now sitting on a big chair.

"He knows you are here," she said accusingly.  She blinked when her master turned on the lamp beside him.

"Don't worry," Eriol Hiiragizawa smiled at Naomi.  "He won't tell anyone."

To be continued… 

**Bishlov:**  I never noticed how much I went on and on in this fic.  All of my other fics are somewhat short and goes right to the point.  I'm sorry if you thought that this is a bit long but I got lazy in thinking how I could shorten it without leaving anything behind.  I do hope you liked this chapter even for just a bit.  Thanks to all of my faithful reviewers.  Luv y'all!!!


	8. The Bear Festival

**Disclaimer:**  I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

KINOMOTO'S ANGEL 

By bishounen lovah a.k.a. touya_mou

Chapter 8: The Bear Festival

It was the middle of the night but Touya was still awake.  He couldn't sleep.  One, because Neilan-doll wouldn't let him.  She had already cried five times and on each bout Touya had to hold her button for about thirty minutes.

And two, because he couldn't stop thinking about Naomi.  He hadn't been attracted to any girl like this since Kaho Mizuki.  _Iie_, he thought.  The truth was he never felt this way with anyone before.  Because sometime in the course of two days he knew Naomi, he had fallen deeply in love with her.

At first he thought that it was just because he misses his mother so much.  And since Naomi is Nadeshiko's photocopy copy, he immediately assumed that what he felt for her was some sort of familial love.  That's where genetics came in.  After all he is his father's son so it's natural for him to be attracted to someone who looks like Nadeshiko.

But as he got to know her he realized that she was only like his mother in outer appearance.  She was nice and all but very secretive.  Unlike Nadeshiko who was gay, open and carefree.

And he didn't trust her.  Not completely.  She could be one of those who wanted to hurt his sister.

~Flashback~

He remembered Naomi's sad look on her face when they had received the baby doll.  His heart ached when he saw this.  He wanted to hug her and ask her what's making her so sad.  But he knew what was bothering her.  It was the same look that he saw when she talked about her mother in the shrine.  She looked extremely melancholy.

When he named the doll Neilan, he saw other emotions play on her face.  Sadness turned to surprise.  Surprise turned to confusion.  Confusion turned to relief.  And relief turned to a deeper emotion, which Touya could only guess as love.

_Love for her mother._

She stared up at him with so much love on her eyes as she held Neilan in her arms.  Her eyes were beautifully dark and shiny.  Touya found himself mesmerized by them.  He wanted to get lost in them.

He felt his heart beating a thousand heartbeats a minute.  And he couldn't breathe.  He couldn't think of anything else but the raven beauty in front of him.

_I love her_, the thought suddenly popped in his mind.  It startled him.  He looked at her, the wind gently stirring tresses of dark hair across her face.  _I do.  Oh my God!  I'm in love with her._

That's all he could ever think about.  His concentration was so off that his coach had benched him for the very first time in his soccer career.  Yukito noticed this and asked him about it when they were walking home.

"What happened to you out there, Touya?"

He just shrugged.  The feeling was all too new to him and couldn't talk about it.  Besides, he doesn't know how his best friend would react to it.

"It's Naomi isn't it?"  Yukito asked again, this time quietly.  "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

Touya was surprised at his friend's perceptiveness.  Usually he was so dense, he wouldn't notice if a flying pig flew right up to his face and wiggled its chubby behind.

"Yeah," he said.  "Yeah, I am."  He glanced at Yukito to see how he's taking it.  He saw that his friend was smiling brightly.

"I knew it!  I saw the way you looked at her earlier.  You two look good together."

"Yukito…" Touya stopped walking.  Yukito was taking it too well.  Falling in love with someone would definitely change their relationship.  They were inseparable and were content with it.  Now another person would be coming in between them.  He loves Naomi but he also loves Yukito (but in a completely different way.)

"I'm happy for you Touya.  Really, I am."  Yukito said as he laid a hand on Touya's shoulder.  "Being the guardian of the Clow cards and the Card Mistress, I cannot love in the way you and Naomi do.  But I do love you and Sakura in a way.  You are the family I never had since Clow-sama passed away."

Touya sighed in relief.  But then something that Yukito said struck his mind.  "What did you mean _love in the way I and Naomi do_?"

"Really Touya.  You can be so dense sometimes," Yukito smiled as he walked on leaving Touya to sweatdrop in disbelief.

_Me? Dense?_  He asked himself.  He ran to catch up with Yukito.  "What is it that you know, Yukito?"

"That's for you to find out," he said mischievously.  Touya bugged Yukito to tell him what he meant all the way home.  He even threatened that he won't feed him if he won't spill.  But it was to no avail.  Yukito was keeping his mouth shut.

~End of Flashback~

He had wondered if he could love someone whom he didn't trust.  For him it seemed impossible but it had already happened.  This confused him for a bit.  What if he fell in love with the enemy?

Then he remembered something Sakura had said about her attacker.  She said that it was a man and that he was full of hatred.  He thought about the intense sadness and love that he felt from Naomi.  No one who could show that much love and kindness (towards Sakura) is full of anger and hate.

Naomi wasn't the one who attacked Sakura.  But still she could be an ally to the evil force.  His senses tell him she wasn't.

It wasn't until he walked Naomi home that he realized he was correct in assuming she wasn't evil.  He can't be mistaken on whose aura he felt in her apartment.  He was absolutely certain that it was Eriol Hiiragizawa who was watching them.  And he also felt the auras of Nakuru Akizuki and Spinel Sun nearby.  Naomi was on their side.

And then he remembered the voice that he heard during yesterday's battle.  He played the memory over and over in his mind until he was absolutely sure that it belonged to none other than Naomi.  She was the one who helped the gaki destroy the tornado.

He felt like a heavy load was taken off his chest.  Whatever or whoever it is that attacked his sister would soon be destroyed.  Everybody is here to protect Sakura.  He was sure that Hiiragizawa wasn't just here to watch.

"I guess my only problem now, Neilan, is whether Naomi loves me or not," Touya said to the doll in his arms.  "But it won't trouble me any longer.  I'll make her fall in love with me."

~Morning came~ 

Touya rang the bell and nervously adjusted the straps of the baby carrier.  Neilan was laying snuggly against his chest.  He had chosen a pink jumper with matching white shirt and shoes for her.  Her curly hair was bound at the sides with the two pink ribbons he borrowed from his sister.  She looked very cute (for a doll).

He had also bothered with his clothes today.  He was wearing a black turtleneck shirt with his good jeans and soft loafers.  _Casual yet elegant_, he thought in satisfaction while looking at his full-length mirror earlier.

"Just a minute," Naomi shouted behind the door.  He can also hear other voices in the background.  It sounded like Akizuki and Spinel Sun were arguing about something.  He felt the aura of Hiiragizawa flare then everything was quiet.

"Ohayo!"  Naomi greeted when she finally opened the door.  Touya could only stare at her.  She looked absolutely beautiful.  She was wearing a white fitted shirt with flared long sleeves.  Her short black skirt was also flared and her black boots ran up her calf stopping just below her knees.  (AN: Sorry if you think that the clothes suck.  I was watching Sailor Moon and Magic Knight Rayearth earlier ^_^0.)

_You're drooling_, his subconscious told him.  Touya mentally shook his head and greeted back.  "Ohayo.  You look great," he complimented.

"Thanks. So do you," she smiled as she raised her hand.  Thinking that she was gonna touch him, he stiffened involuntarily.  "Ohayo, Neilan.  You're looking good too."

_Baka!  Stop acting like an idiot and relax_, he told himself firmly.

"Let's go.  The others are waiting for us at the shrine," he handed the bag of baby clothes so they wouldn't have to bring it at the festival.  It was her turn to take care of Neilan tonight.  Then he stepped to the side so Naomi could pass.

"Hai!"  She laid the bag in the hallway and closed the door behind her.

They walked side by side in silence for a while.  It was a comfortable and companionable silence.

"Did Neilan gave you any trouble last night?" Naomi asked after a few minutes.  "Did she cry too much?"

"She cried about six times.  I guess compared to Sakura when she was a baby, Neilan behaved like an angel."  He smiled at Naomi and she smiled back.

"What about you when you were a baby?  Did you also give your mother a hard time?

"Probably.  Although I know that she didn't mind.  She loved us no matter what we do.  What about you?"  The question slipped out of Touya's lips before he could stop it.  He knew that the topic involving her mother clams her up.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," he said quickly.

"Iie," she smiled tenderly at him with a dash of wistfulness.  "I was a quiet kid.  I never bothered my mother.  We had a very strange relationship."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Naomi thought for a while.  She wanted to tell him all about her mother but now wasn't the right time.  She decided to tell him part of the story.

"You could say that my mother was sort of sick.  She couldn't give me what I needed but I don't blame her for that.  She can't help it if she can't give me the attention that a child needs."

Touya couldn't help but get angry with Naomi's mother.  Whatever that she did, or didn't do, had caused a great amount of pain and sadness to her daughter.  A mother shouldn't be like that.

Naomi saw Touya scowl and knew that he was angry for her.  _He cares for me_, she thought with a glee.  She took his hand in hers and waited for him to look at her.

"Don't be mad at her," she said as she squeezed his hand.  "As I said she couldn't help it and didn't mean to hurt me.  I know that she's sorry for whatever happened between us and I know that she's now watching over me and protecting me to make up for her past mistakes."

Touya saw another side of her and felt his heart burst with love.  "You're a good person," he squeezed her hand back.

For the rest of the way, they just walked hand in hand enjoying each other's presence.  Unaware of the looks that some people are giving them.  Those who knew about the baby project were smiling encouragingly while the others who didn't were thinking what a shame it was that such a young couple were already saddled with a baby.

But all of them agreed on something.  Touya and Naomi looked like a perfect couple.  So in love with each other.

When they reached the shrine, Sakura and the others were waiting at the entrance.  They immediately saw the intertwined fingers of Touya and Naomi.  Sakura and Meiling giggled while Tomoyo focused her camera from Sakura to the newcomers.  Yukito too was smiling in glee.  Syaoran was the only one who wasn't joining in on the fun.

Sure he was looking at their hands but he was more focused on the ivory bracelets around Naomi's wrists.  He had forgotten about them.

When the two reached them, they immediately noticed that everyone was giggling at them.  It was only when Tomoyo pointed her video cam on their hands that they realized they were still holding each other's hands.  They quickly let go and acted as if nothing happened although anyone who would look at their red faces would know something did.

Sakura noticed Syaoran's glum expression and asked him what was wrong.

"Nothing," he said, still staring at the bracelet.  "I'm just trying to remember something."

"You know what I do when I'm trying to remember something," Sakura replied, "I simply stop thinking about it."

At the confused expression of Syaoran, she explained some more.  "From my experience, the harder I try to remember something the more I forget about it."

"Sakura's right," Tomoyo butted in.  The others have already entered the shrine leaving her to videotape Sakura and Syaoran.  "Have some fun today and don't think about it.  I'm sure it will come to you later."

"Maybe you're right," Syaoran sighed.

"Then it's settled!  We're going to have a fun filled day."  Sakura shouted as she grabbed Syaoran's hand, making him blush.  Then she also grabbed Tomoyo's hand and pulled them inside.

They went from booth to booth looking at all of the cute teddy bears and other things shaped like them.  When they reached a game booth where one can get a teddy bear for a prize, Touya thought about playing so he could give Naomi a bear.  Syaoran was thinking of the same thing for Sakura, even though he had already given her one.

"Would you two like a bear?"  Yukito asked Tomoyo and Meiling.  He was already paying the guy behind the counter.

"I'm gonna play too," Syaoran and Touya said in unison.  They glared at each other and raced to pay the guy.  They each took a water gun and shot furiously at the figures in front of them.

A few minutes later, Yukito handed Tomoyo and Meiling their bears.  The other two, however, were still not able to shot a single figure even though they had already used up three water guns.

"Wow. Look at them go."  Meiling exclaimed.  Sakura and Naomi were watching them with big sweatdrops on their heads.

"Maybe we should go and sit down for a while," Yukito suggested to Sakura and Naomi.

"He's right," Tomoyo agreed.  "Do you remember the last time they did this Sakura?  It took them twenty minutes to get a prize.  And that's only because the booth owner gave it to them just to get rid of them."

Sakura sighed a bubble and tugged Naomi's hand.  "Come on.  Let's go get a drink.  They're making me thirsty."

They left the booth and bought some slurpees.  They sat on a bench near the pond and waited for Touya and Syaoran.  Naomi noticed that Sakura bought two drinks.  At first she thought it was for Syaoran but then she saw her slip the slurpee in her bag.  _Keroberos_, she said to herself.  She was too busy having fun that she didn't notice that the guardian was hiding in Sakura's bag.

Fifteen minutes later, Touya and Syaoran were pantingly handing Naomi and Sakura their bears.

"Arigatou," they said, sweatdropping again.

Neilan chose that moment to cry.  "Why don't you give her to me so you can buy something to drink," Naomi said as she scooped Neilan from the baby carrier.  It was a good thing that Touya had managed to keep the doll dry during the game.

"Okay.  I'll be back in a little while," Touya said then he and Syaoran followed Yukito.

"Sakura, look," Meiling said as she pointed at Neilan, "this must have been what you looked like when you were a baby."

Sakura sweatdropped.  Meiling had a point because Sakura was wearing a pink and white sundress and a pink ribbon bound her braided hair.

"Look guys," a thug-wannabe said, "it's another one of those rubber babies and its sissy mama."  His rough-looking companions snickered behind him.  "What's the matter?  Can't your boyfriend give you a real one?"

"Bug off, fish face.  Leave us alone," Meiling said but was shoved in answer.

_Fish face_ also shoved Sakura and Tomoyo.  He lifted his foot on the bench to trap Naomi.  "A pretty one like you shouldn't be playing with rubber dolls.  Just say the word and I'll be happy to provide you with a real baby."

An angry vein started pumping on Naomi's head.  She was about to punch the guy's ugly face when she noticed that Touya was already standing behind him.

"What!" _Fish face_ shouted, annoyed because someone tapped him on the shoulder.  "Eh?  Who the heck are you?  Ah, you must be the boyfriend.  What do you say sweet chick," he turned back to Naomi, ignoring the furious Touya, "dump sissy boy and come with me."

Touya couldn't stay calm anymore.  He angrily grabbed the guy by his collar and pulled him away from Naomi.

"Hey!  You can't treat me like this.  My men will kill you," he threatened although he was already nervously sweating.

"What men?"  Touya asked smugly.

_Fish face_ looked beyond Touya expecting his men to protect him.  Unfortunately for him his men were already on the ground, beaten up by Syaoran and Yukito who were brushing off nonexistent dirt from their hands and shirts.

"Hey, man," he turned back at Touya, "I was only joking around.  The truth is you two make a cute couple."  He was backing away from Touya attempting to escape but Touya wouldn't let him.  Every backward step was rewarded by Touya's forward step.

"You've got a cute kid there, actually."  _Fish face_ was still trying to bluff his way out.  "What's her name?  Fifi?"  He saw that he made another wrong move calling the doll 'Fifi'.

Touya already had his fist balled and was aiming to hit him when Naomi stood up and raised her hand towards Touya's fist.  The thug took this chance to run the hell away from them.  His men followed in pursuit.

"Why did you let him go?"  Touya was still fuming.

"Don't waste your energy on him, Touya.  He is not worth it," she said quietly, pushing his fist down.

Naomi got Touya's attention.  She was acting weird again.  She was staring across the pond and into the woods.  Touya followed her gaze but couldn't see or feel anyone.

"Naomi," Sakura said as she reached the older girl's side.  "Daijoubu?"

Naomi snapped out of her trance and smiled at Sakura.  "Hai!  What about you girls?  Did he hurt you?"

"Nah.  We're okay.  It's a good thing Oniichan came back in time to scare off that thug."

"Yes.  We are lucky.  And we will continue on being lucky, ne, Touya?"  Naomi smiled at him reassuringly.  She knows that Touya had picked up her sudden change of behavior.

"Aa," he said relaxing a bit.  He took Neilan from Naomi ignoring the confused look that his sister was giving them.  "Come on, kaijuu, there are other booths to see."

"I am not a monster!"

Naomi smiled at Touya's attempt to change the subject.  It was crude yet effective.  She shot one last look at the wooded area where she felt someone was watching them.

She had felt an evil aura while the thug was picking a fight with Touya.  The aura was carefully hidden although not totally.  It wasn't strong enough for Yue and Keroberos to notice but wasn't weak enough for Naomi to miss.

All throughout the afternoon, she felt the aura come and go.  _He's watching us_, she realized,_ waiting for the right time to attack._

She tried to act as normal as she could.  She didn't want any of them to worry.  But by the time the afternoon was over she was sure about one thing…_he will attack tonight._

Touya walked her home again while the others went back home with Sakura.  He noticed that Naomi was a little bit tense ever since that ugly guy bothered them.  But he knew that that wasn't what she was worrying about.

He fervently wishes that she could tell him what was bothering her but he respected her privacy.  _She will tell me when she's ready,_ he thought as they reached their destination.

"Touya, arigatou.  For the bear and for a wonderful day.  I had a great time," she said sincerely.

"Me too.  I'm glad that you came."

After that they just stared at each other.  Both of them wanting to say what's in their mind but no sound were heard except for the soft howling of the wind.

Minutes have passed before Naomi felt the sudden flare of dark energy coming from the direction of the Tsukimine Shrine.  It was time.

"You should go Touya," she said as she took Neilan from him.  "Sakura might need you."

Touya caught the urgency in her voice.  _Something bad is going to happen.  He will attack tonight._  Touya wanted to run home but he also wanted to bring Naomi with him.  She nodded at him as though to assure him that she will be there.  With that, he dashed towards his house.

Naomi entered the apartment.  She has to do something first before she helped her new friends.  She has to warn Eriol that he is back.

Enishi Mori is back.

To be continued…

**Bishlov:**  I just realized how much this fic sucked compared to my others.  There are too many details and cryptic parts.  Oh well, as long as some people like this then I guess it's good enough.  Watch out for the next two chapters, minna-san, those are my favorites.

Please send in your reviews.  Comments, opinions and even violent reactions are welcome so long as they are constructive.  Arigatou gozaimasu!!!


	9. Enishi Mori

Disclaimer:  I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional. KINOMOTO'S ANGEL 

By bishounen lovah a.k.a. touya_mou

Chapter 9: Enishi Mori

The gang was hanging out in Sakura's living room.  They were watching Tomoyo's videotape of that day's happenings while having a snack.

Keroberos and Yukito were finishing off last night's tarts while Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Meiling were sitting on the floor in front of the TV.  Fujitaka was out of the house leaving a note that he's attending an overnight business meeting.  Touya was out too but will be back as soon as he walked Naomi home.

"Keroberos!  I thought you wanted to watch this?"  Sakura said.  "Stop stuffing your face with food and come over here."

"Just a minute!"  Keroberos replied while shoving a whole tart in his mouth.  "Being stuck in your bag for a whole day made me hungry."

"But I kept on sneaking food for you every chance I get," Sakura sweatdropped.

"But still…" he was interrupted by Meiling.

"Shhh," she shushed.  "Here comes the good part."  They were now watching the part where the thugs were bothering the girls.

Keroberos flew in front of the TV.  "So that's the guy that pushed you, ne, Sakura?"

Syaoran made an odd sound in his throat.  He can still feel the anger when he saw that ugly guy shove Sakura.  He can't believe Touya allowed Naomi to let him get away.  He was planning to beat the guy again right after Touya broke every bone in his body.  But he ran away without even a scratch on his ego.

"Wow.  You sure can move fast Syaoran," Tomoyo exclaimed.

Syaoran looked at the screen and surprise registered in his mind.  He actually can't remember what happened.  All he knew was that he saw red when the ugly thug shoved Sakura.  What he saw now was an angry Syaoran beating every guy who came in his way to a bloody pulp.  Yukito was in the background calmly watching him do all the action.  It was only when two guys tried to escape that he moved and tripped the guys until they fell flat on their ugly faces.

"Syaoran," he looked at Sakura beside him.  "Arigatou," she said with a bright smile.  His cheeks instantly turned apple red.

"For what?"

"For teaching those guys a lesson for me.  For defending me.  It was very brave of you."

Syaoran turned a shade deeper at Sakura's compliments.  He was about to reply when something caught his eyes.  The TV was now showing a shot of Naomi's hand on Touya's fist.  The ivory bracelet slid from Naomi's wrist down her raised arm towards the elbow.  He grabbed the remote control from Keroberos and pushed the rewind button until he got a clean shot of the bracelet.

"What the heck are you doing, gaki?  Didn't your mother ever teach you some manners?"  Keroberos shouted as he flew in front of Syaoran's face.  But he was snubbed because Syaoran crawled away from him and went nearer to the TV screen.

"What's the matter, Syaoran?"  Sakura asked when he didn't say anything and just stared hard at the paused video.

"That bracelet," he said more to himself than to others.  "I've seen it somewhere before."

All of them turned their attention from Syaoran to the shot of Naomi's bracelet.  It was an ivory bracelet (more like a bangle) that was about half an inch wide.  The outer surface appeared to be scratched but at closer inspection the scratches were actually ancient Chinese carvings (AN: I don't know if there's such a thing but just humor me, okay?)

Syaoran closed his eyes and tried to remember why that bracelet was so familiar.  But every time he thinks he remembers, the image in his mind fades away.

He was about to give up when Meiling shouted, "Fuutie!"

He stared in question at his cousin.  What does his eldest sister have to do with this?  And then he remembered.

"Kuso," he shouted at himself.  "I'm so stupid!  Why didn't I remember before?"

"What's going on, Syaoran?"  Sakura was confused with what's happening.

"Fuutie is Syaoran's oldest sister and she too have a pair of bracelets just like those," Meiling explained.

"But how can that be?"  Syaoran asked in wonder.

"Maybe Naomi went to Hong Kong and bought the same bracelets.  Coincidence happens you know," Tomoyo said.

"Iie.  That couldn't have happened," Syaoran said and explained some more when his friends looked at him oddly.  "Oneechan's bracelets were given to her by our mother.  They are heirlooms passed on to the oldest daughter from generation to generation.  Those bracelets are at least a century years old."

"Now I remember," Keroberos butted in.  "Clow Reed had made ivory bracelets with magic spells carved on it.  He never showed it to us that's why Yue and I didn't recognize those bracelets."

"But how come Naomi has a pair too?"  Sakura asked.

"Because Clow Reed made two sets of bracelets."

Everybody looked surprised at Yukito who was now transforming into Yue.  Blue light illuminated the room as Yue emerged from his wings.

"How did you know he made two sets?  Don't tell me he showed you and didn't show me."  Keroberos glared at the other guardian.

"No.  He never showed me," Yue shot an icy look at Keroberos.  "He told me that he made two pairs of bracelets for his two favorite nieces.  Those bracelets are magical but can only be used if you have the blood of Clow Reed."

All of a sudden, Syaoran saw in his mind's eye the hand that he thought he imagined.  The hand that glided across his sword before the wind of his ofuda increased.

There was no doubt in his mind anymore.  It was Naomi who had helped him save Sakura. And the flash of white against the hand could only be the ivory bracelet.  How she came to have them and how she had managed to utilize their power was beyond him.

Just then an evil aura swept around the room, swirling as though enclosing them in a large whirlwind.  They could hear a creepy laugh resonating around the room.  And then they heard his voice…

"We meet again Card Mistress.  Did you miss me?" the dark voice said.

"Who are you and what do you want from us," Syaoran demanded although he cannot see where the voice was coming from.

"You…I do not want anything from you.  All I want is the Card Mistress.  And Yue."

With that another whirlwind formed and enveloped Sakura and Yue.  A minute later the evil force is gone.  And so are Sakura and Yue.

"What happened?  Where are they," asked Tomoyo tearily.

"I can feel him.  His aura is coming from the direction of the shrine," said Keroberos.  "We'd better go after them before anything bad happens."

"We're coming with you," declared Meiling.

"No.  Go find Naomi," Syaoran ordered Meiling and Tomoyo.  He decided that she was right.  Now that he felt the true strength of the evil power, she was right in saying that he was weak.  He knows that he won't be able to save Sakura again on his own.

"Go!"  He shouted at the two girls who were staring at him confusedly as he and Keroberos ran to the shrine.

~In the woods near the shrine~ 

"Where are we Yue?" Sakura looked around as soon as Yue's wings uncovered themselves from their bodies.

"Somewhere in the woods, I guess," he replied.  They started to walk around.  The evil force is near and they tried to follow its origin.  Minutes later they stumbled into a clearing and saw Touya floating in the air, unconscious.  His feet pointing downwards and his body bound by a dark mist.

"Oniichan," Sakura shouted as she started to run towards him.  Yue stopped her as he felt the evil aura surge.

Sakura tried to pinpoint the exact location of the source of evil.  But the aura was very powerful.  She could feel him everywhere.

"What's the matter, Card Mistress?  Such a powerful sorceress like you should be able to detect a miserable lowlife like me.

"Why don't you stop hiding and show yourself," Sakura shouted angrily.  "Or maybe you're just scared."

"Scared?"  He laughed sarcastically although what Sakura said did drive him into showing himself.

From the mist binding Touya, they saw something move.  Part of the dark mist separated from the binding and floated in front of Touya.  It was forming a figure and soon a human body in a black robe emerged (AN: Think of the evil emperor in the old Star Wars trilogy).

"Now that you've seen me, what are you going to do?" he said in an amused tone.

"Who are you," Yue demanded.

"Tsk, tsk, Yue.  I'm deeply hurt," the hooded man said as he took a few steps closer to them.  "Don't you remember me?"

Yue had that feeling again.  The feeling that this man was from his past.  But he still couldn't remember when and where.  The man's hatred towards them was blocking any other aura that could help Yue remember who he was.

"I can't believe how easily you forgot me, Yue.  Especially since you've managed to destroy my life and my destiny in just one night."  The man finally pulled his hood down revealing his face.

Sakura grabbed hold of Yue's robe waiting to see an ugly face.  She gasped at surprise for what she saw was a beautiful man.  His face looked young, his nose aristocratic.  His hair was long and jet-black (AN: Think Sagato of Magic Knight Rayearth this time.)

But his eyes, Sakura shivered involuntarily.  His eyes are cold and almost lifeless.  The pupils can no longer be seen in his black iris. 

"Now do you remember me Yue," he smirked.

Sakura glanced upwards at Yue's face.  She could see that he was surprised as recognition finally set in.

"Enishi Mori," the guardian stated.

"Aah, brings back memories doesn't it, Ukieya.  Oh pardon me," he bowed in mock apology, "you go by the name of Yukito now, don't you?  My, how time flies.  Here you are with a new identity.  And a new mistress."

To Sakura's surprise, she saw Mori actually glide towards her.  He grabbed her by the neck and raised her until her feet were off the ground.  Sakura raised her hands to pry his fingers off her neck.  _Not again_, she thought.

From the corner of her eyes she saw Yue forming his ice shards and aimed it at Mori.  But he was expecting the attack for as soon as Yue released the ice he raised his hand and instantly the ice shattered.

"Now, now, Yue.  Don't be rude.  Can't you see we're trying to have a private conversation here," he stared at Sakura with his cold and creepy eyes then smirked.  "Such a small being for a card mistress.  You've gone soft, Yue.  Why else would you let this pathetic girl pass your test?"  Mori hoisted Sakura and threw her at Yue's arms.

Sakura sputtered as she took in some air.  "Who is that man, Yue?"

"Haven't you figured it out yet, child?" Mori exclaimed.  "I was the card captor before you.  I was his best friend before this brother of yours."

Touya was now gaining consciousness and was hearing bits and pieces of what Mori was saying.

"Enishi-kun," Yue began saying.  This only made Mori even madder.  He raised his hand again but this time large balls of fire appeared and flew right towards Sakura and Yue.  Everything happened so quickly they had no time to react.  Sakura and Yue flew to different directions as the balls of fire hit them.

"Don't you dare call me by my first name," he glowered.  "You are no longer my friend.  You ceased to be my friend ever since you took away my destiny.  Ever since you took away the only person whom I loved."

At that moment Keroberos arrived breathing his own balls of fire out.  Syaoran was on his back holding out his lasin board.  The fireballs hit the ground around Mori but none had actually hit him.  He just stood there looking amused.

"Ah, the whole gang is here.  Isn't that nice?"

Sakura had had enough of his sarcasm.  She took out her magical key and chanted.

"O key which hides the power of the stars, reveal thy true self.  I, Sakura, command thee under contract…RELEASE!"

The ground she was standing on started glowing as the Clow symbol appeared.  Grabbing her sealing wand she took out watery card and released it.

Watery flew to attack Mori but he released his fire again, this time in the form of a steady stream.  Watery struggled to move forward but Mori was too powerful.  Seconds later his fire over empowered Watery's magic as it flowed in different direction like a fountain.

"As I've said before, Card Mistress, is that all you can do?"

By then Yue and Keroberos started attacking Mori at the same time.  They showered him with ice crystals and fireballs thinking one of them are bound to hurt him.  Syaoran, on the other hand, had crept to Touya's side so he could release him.

"What are you doing, gaki," Touya said to the boy, now fully conscious.  He watched him gently slide his sword against the dark mist.  "Go help them."

"I am helping them," he said as he watched his magical sword spark in reaction to the mist.  "It would be less worry to them if you are safe."

Touya looked at Mori where he effortlessly dodged and foiled any attack made on him by Sakura and her guardians.  It seemed as though their powers have no effect on him.  He tried to move his arm to loosen whatever it was that's binding him but it was too powerful.

"Hold still," Syaoran ordered Touya as he took out an ofuda and poised to release it.

"Nani!  Are you crazy?  You're going to hit me with that thing?"

"No.  I'm going to try to blow away that mist.  Now shut up and hold still if you don't want to get hit," Syaoran said with a bit of exasperation.  "Wind, come to my aid!"

A strong gust of wind came out of the magical paper and went directly to the dark mist.  Touya had hard time breathing as the wind swirled around him but he could feel the binding loosening.

"Not yet," Mori shouted as he felt his hold on Touya weakening.  He shot fireballs towards Sakura, Keroberos and Yue hitting them squarely and sending them flying away from him.

He then raised his hands and created another dark mist, this time binding Syaoran.  Being caught in surprise, Syaoran dropped his sword while the ofuda was blown away.

"So you are the one who got in my way last time."  Mori flicked his hand and slowly the mist floated towards him taking Syaoran along with it.  "You don't look powerful enough to beat my tornado.  I wonder how you did it."

"Look who's talking?  You're just full of hot air," Syaoran spat at the man.

"Really? Perhaps you'd want a small demonstration on just how powerful I really am."  Mori flicked his hand again and instantly the mist emitted electricity, shocking Syaoran unmercifully.

He screamed as physical pain like he never knew coursed through his body.

"Syaoran," Sakura cried as she tried to stand up despite of her weak state.  Although she was far away, she could hear him cry out of pain.  _What can I do?  What else haven't I used yet_, she thought hard.  _My cards doesn't seem to affect him but maybe if I catch him by surprise…_

She pulled out a card and released it.  "Shot card!"

Dashes of light raced towards Mori, aiming almost at all parts of his body.  Mori saw it coming too late.  The Shot had hit him with full force making him fall to the ground.

_Yosha!_  Sakura released the Fly Card and flew towards them.

"Sakura, watch out!"  Touya yelled as he saw Mori standing up.  He couldn't believe his eyes because there were holes on his body.  He could see right through them.  And just as he thought nothing could surprise him anymore, the holes in Mori's body started to fill up magically.

"Nice try, Card Mistress," Mori laughed as he disintegrated the ice crystals and fireballs that the guardians threw at him again.  He looked up at the three winged creatures above him.  "Haven't you understood yet?  Your puny little powers don't work on me.  You can call any card you like but none of them would even put a scratch on me."

He turned back towards Touya and Syaoran who were now floating side by side.  "Looks like I picked the right hostages.  Both of you are loved by those of whom I lived to hate…the Card Mistress and Yue."

_What's going on_, Touya thought in bewilderment.  _What's taking them so long?  Hiiragizawa, get your butt over here and help us._

"I know what this is about, sorcerer," Touya glared angrily at the man as he tried to stall for time.  "You're doing all this because you were not strong enough to pass Yue's final judgment while a little girl did."

But Touya had struck a sensitive nerve.  Mori's eyes turned even darker with anger.  "Who are you to talk?  You are even more pathetic than your little sister.  Perhaps I should kill you now."  He raised his right hand and pointed it towards Touya.  His hand started glowing threatening (AN: sort of like Dragon Ball Z type of glow).

"Say goodbye, big brother…"

To be continued… 


	10. Foiled Attack

**Disclaimer:**  I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

KINOMOTO'S ANGEL 

By touya_mou a.k.a bishounen lovah

Chapter 10: Foiled Attack

"Arigatou," Tomoyo said on her mobile phone.

"Well?  Did you get her address?"  Meiling asked anxiously.  Tomoyo made a call to her bodyguards and asked them to hack Naomi's address from the school files.

"Hai!"Tomoyo said as she dragged Meiling to a run.  "It's just a few blocs away from here."

They ran as fast as they could.  Even though they were confused at Syaoran's orders to find Naomi, they followed him just as well.  They knew that he knows what he's doing.

At last they reached Naomi's apartment.  They were about to ring the bell when they noticed that the door was slightly ajar and loud voices were coming from inside.  Meiling nudged Tomoyo to enter since they have already wasted so much time finding the place.

They quietly walked in the hallway thinking how big the apartment looked from the inside.  The talking had stopped and the place turned eerily quiet. They walked past the staircase and went directly to the room at the end of the hall.  The door squeaked softly as they slowly opened it.

"Daidouji-chan and Li-chan.  How nice of you to visit us."

The girls jumped at the sound of the voice and looked guiltily around the room.

"Hiiragizawa-kun," Tomoyo exclaimed.  She saw the bespectacled boy in blue-black robe sitting on his big chair with Ruby Moon standing and Spinel Sun floating at either side.  "What are you doing here?"

"That's Clow Reed's reincarnate?"  Meiling whispered at Tomoyo in indignation.

"Ah, that's right Li-chan.  We haven't met yet.  I am Eriol Hiiragizawa.  Otherwise known as Clow Reed. Well at least, half of him," he said as he walked towards Meiling and grabbed her hand to kiss it.

Meiling blushed at being caught badmouthing him (well sort of) and at his romantic yet polite way of greeting.

"So what brings you to our humble abode?" he asked as he sat back on his chair.

"We're here to see Naomi."

Eriol waved his hand towards his left and their gazes followed that direction.  Sure enough, Naomi was standing at the far end of the room staring outside the window.

"Naomi," Eriol called out.

She jumped in surprise.  She was too busy reading the play of auras outside that she didn't notice Tomoyo and Meiling coming in.

"Naze?" she glanced at her master.

"You have visitors."

Naomi turned to the door and smiled at the girls.  "Oh, hello.  What can I do for you?"

"Syaoran asked us to come here.  They were…" Tomoyo paused for she didn't know where to begin.

"We know."  Naomi replied.

"You do?"

"So my cute little descendant sent you, eh?"  Eriol stood again and released his magical staff.  "At last, he's learning to use his head instead of his ego.  Perhaps we should join them now, Naomi.  I wouldn't want to miss this for the world."

"We're coming with you," Meiling exclaimed.

"Iie," Naomi shook her head.  "Stay here with Ruby Moon and Spinel.  It would be much safer."

"But…"

"It would be difficult for us to save the others while protecting you," Naomi insisted.  She joined Eriol then he waved his staff.  A soft glow illuminated the room as the two disappeared.

Ruby Moon laid her hands on the girls' shoulders.  "Don't worry.  They'll be back with your friends."

Spinel Sun let out a sound that's akin to a snort.  Ruby Moon looked sharply at him thinking he was making fun of her again.  "What is it now?"

"Naomi forgot to leave her doll behind," Spinel Sun said as he rolled over the rug, laughing.  He had been making fun of that doll ever since Naomi took it home this afternoon.

Ruby Moon, Tomoyo and Meiling just stared at the big cat with a sweatdrop each.  _How can he laugh at a time like this_, they all thought.

Meanwhile, Eriol and Naomi arrived at the woods where the others were fighting Mori.  They hid on a nearby tree and watched them fight.

"It's as expected," Eriol grimaced.  "Their powers are useless against him.  He must have developed some sort of immunity against them."

"That means your powers don't work against him too," Naomi filled in the blanks.  "The powers of the guardians and the Card Mistress are derived from yours.  But where is Syaoran?"

Eriol pointed just a few feet below them.  They saw Syaoran trying to release Touya with his sword.  Naomi gasped as she saw Touya struggling to get out from his bindings.  She moved to help them but was stopped by Eriol.

"Iie.  It's not your turn yet.  Let's see what my cute little descendant can do first."

"Why do you always call him that?"  Naomi asked him irritably.  She feels sorry for Syaoran because Eriol was always picking on him.

"Why?  Are you jealous?  Because if you want I could also…"

"Don't even think about it," she snapped at the smiling boy.  "I hope the day comes when Syaoran would call you _his cute little ancestor._"

"Speaking of the devil…"

They watched Syaoran use a wind ofuda and conceded that he used a good tactic.

"He's changed," Naomi commented.  "He's using his head now instead of rushing into a fight."

"That may be," Eriol replied, "but he still needs to improve his awareness of what's happening in his surroundings."

They watched Mori bind Syaoran with another one of his dark mist.

"Aren't we going to help him?  He's the only one who could stop Mori among them."  Naomi visibly winced as she watched Mori electrocute the young boy.  "You were happy when he sent the girls for help and yet you stand here doing nothing."

Naomi was getting impatient.  She knows that her master has a plan and she rarely disobeys him.  But she had been waiting all of her life to get back at Mori for hurting her mother.  And like a lioness on a hunting spree, she's itching for action but was just waiting for the right moment to attack.

And her time came.  When Mori turned his attention to Touya, she felt her body tense preparing to spring into action…

"I know what this is about, sorcerer," Touya glared angrily at the man.  "You're doing all this because you were not strong enough to pass Yue's final judgment while a little girl did."

"Who are you to talk?  You are even more pathetic than your little sister.  Perhaps I should kill you now."  He raised his right hand and pointed it towards Touya.  His hand started glowing threateningly_._

"Say goodbye, big brother…"

"Yamero!"  Before Eriol could stop her, Naomi pushed Neilan and the baby carrier in his hands and jumped out of the tree, somersaulting in the air _(AN: Go Xena!)_  She landed in front of Touya and Syaoran with her knee and her hands on the ground bracing her body from the fall.

"Soil of life, protector of those who take root on thy body; I ask thee to protect us and be our shield.  Earth, come to my aid!"

Naomi took a handful of soil and spread it in front of her.  As she did so, her ivory bracelets flashed under her long sleeves.  Then suddenly, part of the ground rose forming a thick wall between Mori and Naomi.  It rose just in time to shield them from the ray of energy that came from his hand.

The wall crumbled at the impact of Mori's attack leaving them bare again and vulnerable to another one of his attacks.

"Who are you?  How dare you spoil my revenge?"  Mori growled at the girl in front of him.

"An eye for an eye, Enishi Mori.  You can have your revenge if you can stop mine."  Naomi grasped the handle of Syaoran's sword then lunged at Mori.

She moved so fast that Mori barely had time to create his own sword.  She had managed to nick his face before her sword encountered his sword.  She could see black liquid oozing from his wound.

As they fought a sword battle, Sakura and the guardians rushed towards Touya and Syaoran.  Sakura tried her own Windy Card to release them but it didn't work.

"Hurry, Sakura," Keroberos yelled as he watched the amazing swordplay across the clearing.

"I'm trying but none of my cards work."

Then she felt Clow Reed's aura.  _Use your Shield Card to block away his aura_, she heard in her mind.

"Hoe!"  She exclaimed as she looked around to see where Eriol is.

"Sakura, hurry!  Naomi's getting weaker," Touya said in an urgent voice.  He could see Mori over empowering Naomi's strength as he strike blow after blow.

"Alright.  Here goes nothing," Sakura muttered as she took out another card.  "Shield Card!"

A soft glow covered them all as Shield formed into a domelike structure.  They could see the dark mist thinning as Mori's aura was blocked by their shield.  Seconds later, Touya and Syaoran fell to the ground, both of them exhausted from fighting the dark mist.

"Who is she," Yue wondered out loud, staring at Naomi.

"She's the one who helped me the other day," Syaoran said as he tried to get up with the help of Sakura.  "She's the one who made my wind ofuda stronger."

"She did?" Sakura looked at the older girl fight Mori.  "We must go help her."

_No.  Stay there._  Sakura heard Eriol's voice again._  You cannot do anything to help except stay safe inside that shield._

"Demo," she started to say but halted because she saw Mori raise his hand against Naomi.  "Naomi!  Look out!"  Sakura screamed but it was already too late.

A large fireball came out from his hand and threw Naomi across the field.  The impact had caused her body to slide against the ground passing the area where Sakura and the others stood.  Their worried gaze followed the deep indentation on the ground until they saw her body in a crumpled heap.

"Naomi!"  Touya shouted as he tried to get out of the shield to check if she was all right.  But he couldn't, none of them could.  "Sakura, what's going on?  Let me out!"

"Shield, return!"  Sakura commanded but the card gave no response.  "I can't.  Shield is not responding."

"Ah, how nice.  All of you in there like some nicely wrapped present.  Did you enjoy watching me kill your friend?"  Mori said as he floated slowly towards them.  He laughed as he saw their furious faces.  "Don't worry, you'll join her soon enough."

He raised both his hands and aimed directly at them.  His hands glowed anew as he collected energy to increase the power of his attack.  When it was sufficient enough to destroy them all, he released his death ray.

They stepped backwards as the ray hit their shield.  None of the ray passed through the shield but they can see that it wasn't strong enough to protect them if the attack continued.

Out of nowhere, Eriol emerged from their backs and started walking to the front of the shield.  They couldn't help but sweatdrop as they saw that his imposing figure was dimmed because of the baby doll he was carrying on his back.

"Eriol-kun." Sakura said as he reached her side.

"Don't worry," Eriol comforted her.  "He won't succeed."

"What the hell took you so long, Hiiragizawa," Touya demanded the boy.  "Why didn't you help Naomi?"

"The same reason why Sakura and the guardians couldn't help her.  Our powers cannot be used to attack him."

"Then why is the Shield Card working?"  Sakura was confused.  It was the only Sakura Card that had actually worked.

"I said we couldn't use our powers to _attack_ him.  I didn't say we couldn't use them to protect ourselves."  And then he touched the edge of his staff to the wall of the shield.  Instantly the shield grew stronger and thicker.

"It's not enough," Yue observed as the ray just kept on coming and was even getting stronger.  "He's too familiarized with our powers.  He knows how to defeat them."

"Wind, come to my aid!"

They looked behind them and saw Naomi using Syaoran's sword and ofuda.  A strong gust of wind came out and hit Mori.  The combination of the ofuda, the magical sword and the ivory bracelets has increased the strength of the wind tenfold.  It was his turn to slide across the ground.

She slowly walked towards her friends, wearily dragging the sword behind her.  Her white shirt was covered with dirt and blood.  They could see that the fireball had burnt her sleeves and part of her left shoulder.  Blood was running out of her wound and down her arm, dripping to the ground.

_(AN:  Gomen if you think it's too morbid.  I got it from watching too many Hollywood films_._)_

"Naomi," Touya urgently said as she reached their side, "daijoubu?"

Naomi smiled weakly at him.  "I'm fine although I think I need a bath."

"He's still alive," Eriol quietly told Naomi.

"I know," she smiled yet again then suddenly turned to Syaoran.  "You don't happen to have any other ofuda with you, do you?"

Syaoran was still surprised at seeing Naomi use his sword.  Only a true Li could utilize its power.  Nevertheless he laid out his ofuda for her.

Her right hand slipped right through the shield's barrier and poised above the pieces of paper.  She picked out two of them and crumpled them together.  She then positioned herself in front as though to protect Sakura and the others.  She slowly raised her hands and winced at the pain she felt on her left shoulder.  But still she raised them as high as she could then chanted…

"I summon thee, rival elements, come together and help me bind the evil that lurks beyond me.  Water and Lightning, come to my aid!"

They saw the crumpled ofuda float in between Naomi's hands and glow as her ivory bracelets flashed to give her power.  A second later, water and lightning came out spiraling in unison as they dashed to attack Mori who was now struggling to get up.

Water and lightning circled around the sorcerer, tightening at each round until his whole body was bound just as Touya and Syaoran was bound.  He screamed as the water and lightning electrocuted him.

"It's working," Keroberos shouted in glee but then realized he celebrated prematurely.  "No it's not!  He's trying to get away!"  He shouted again as he watched Mori struggling to get out of the binding.

As if she heard Keroberos shouting, Naomi chanted anew.  "Powers that make me be, I invoke thee."

"Baka!"  Eriol angrily shouted at Naomi.  The others stared at him with slight fright.  They never saw him shout like that.  He was always so calm.  "You can't do that.  You're wounded…Yamero!"

But Naomi ignored his orders as she continued on chanting.

"Powers that make me be, I invoke thee.  I am, Naomi…descendant of the great Clow Reed.  Noble blood that runs through my veins, I ask thee to give me strength.  Powers that make me be, I invoke thee!"

The wind started to grow stronger in reaction to the intense power she had summoned.  She was lifted up the ground until her feet were barely touching it.  The crumpled ofuda started to burn.  All of them stared in awe as the symbol of Clow started to glow on the backs of her hands like neon tattoos.

The power of water and lightning grew.  They swirled around Mori more furiously until he was trapped in a sparkling sphere.  And then the sphere disappeared, taking the sorcerer with it.

The woods grew quiet as the wind settled down.  Eriol swung his staff across the shield to make it disappear.  As soon as it did, Touya ran towards Naomi.  He got to her just in time to catch her falling body.

"Naomi," he gently shook her as he laid her on the ground, bracing her upper body in his arms.  Her face was pale and her lips had no blood in them.  But she was breathing.

"Is it over," Sakura asked Eriol.

"No.  It's just the beginning," he knelt down beside Touya and Naomi.  He felt for her pulse on her wrist and sighed.

_That was a stupid thing to do, Naomi,_ he said, mentally transmitting it to the unconscious girl.  _You could have died._

"We'd better get her home," Eriol announced to the group.  "She needs to be treated.  All of you need to be treated."  He tapped the base of his staff on the ground.  The Clow Symbol appeared on the ground they were standing on and then they disappeared into the night.

To be continued… 


	11. A Full Circle

**Bishlov:**  Ehehehe.  Sorry guys.  I kinda forgot about this one.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CCS or any of its characters. CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

Kinomoto's Angel 

By bishounen lovah a.k.a. touya_mou

Chapter 11: A Full Circle

Before they knew it they were all standing outside Naomi's apartment.  Eriol had managed to transport all seven of them in just a matter of seconds.

The door magically opened by itself to let them in.  Eriol led them to the room at the end of the hall.  There the anxious Tomoyo and Meiling met them.  Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun were standing in the middle of the room, watching all the commotion.

"Lay her down here," Eriol motioned at Touya who was carrying Naomi in his arms.

Touya did as he was ordered and gently laid her down on the couch.  He stepped aside although he didn't go far.  He wanted to stay by her side.

"How is she?"  Ruby Moon asked worriedly.  When Eriol didn't answer, the guardian glanced at her master.  She was shocked to see that Eriol looked mad.  _Iie_, she corrected herself, _he looks furious.  I have never seen him like this even when Suppi and I are at our worst_.

Eriol handed her Neilan before he focused his attention to the unconscious girl.  He raised his hands over her body and closed his eyes.  Seconds later, Naomi's body glowed with a soft blue light.  It took Eriol quite some time before Naomi's wounds have completely healed.

"Will she be all right?"  Touya asked as he knelt down and took Naomi's hands.  She still looks pale to him.

"Physically yes. But her spiritual power is almost drained," Eriol quietly said before pausing.

"What is it, Eriol-kun?"  Sakura asked.

"If it had gone on any longer, she could have killed herself."  Eriol sighed.  He felt some of his anger go away when he said that.  It wasn't that he was angry because Naomi had blatantly disobeyed his orders although he was surprised that she did.  He was angry because she risked her life to save them from Mori.  He was angry because he couldn't do anything to help her or stop her.

"Nakuru.  Take Naomi to her room and make her as comfortable as possible."

"Hai!"  She waited for Touya to release Naomi's hand so she could give him their baby doll.  Then she placed her hand above Naomi's body making her float in the air.  Naomi's suspended body followed Ruby Moon out of the room and up the stairs.

"It's your turn," he motioned for the others to line up.  As soon as they did, Eriol healed them giving them back their strength.  Then he slowly walked to his chair and sat down.

"Sakura," Tomoyo said, "what happened?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Sakura replied.  "Was Enishi Mori destroyed?"

"Unfortunately, no.  Naomi just bound him in another dimension.  Judging by the amount of power that she used, he would probably be trapped there for two weeks, maybe less."

"Can you tell us what's going on?"  Keroberos said.  For some reason he wasn't aware of another card captor except for Sakura.  _How come Yue knows whom this Mori is but I don't_, he shot a suspicious look from Eriol to Yue who had grown more unusually quiet.

Eriol looked at their expectant faces and thought for a while.  "Iie_._  You're all tired. Explanations can wait until tomorrow."

"Demo," Syaoran objected.  He wanted to know why Eriol and his guardians were here.  But more than anything else, he wanted to know how Naomi came into the picture.

"Don't worry my cute little descendant," Eriol smiled at Syaoran, "your questions will be answered.  But don't you prefer it if you hear them from Naomi herself.  No.  This isn't my story to tell."  Eriol briefly glanced at Yue.

Syaoran glared at Eriol when he called him "his cute little descendant" but he didn't say anything.  Eriol was right.  They would just waste time because Naomi wasn't there to tell them the whole story.  Besides, he was suddenly too tired.  They had been through enough for one day.  It would be nice if they could rest.

"Spinel Sun.  Why don't you show our guests their rooms?"

The big cat stood up and led the others upstairs.  A few minutes later he came back to Eriol.  He took one look at Eriol's tired face before transforming into his smaller form.

"It was that bad?" he asked his master.

"Worse," Eriol grimaced.  "He's more powerful than we thought and our powers are completely useless against him."

"Is the Li boy strong enough to defeat him?"

"Iie_._  Naomi would have to teach him new tricks.  Especially now that her power is almost drained.  It would take some time before it is completely restored."

The room grew quiet for a few minutes, both of them deep in their thoughts.  Then Spinel Sun stood up from the arm of Eriol's chair.  "I'm going back upstairs to check up on her and Nakuru," he said as he flew towards the door.  "You're staying here?"

"Aa.  We have another guest arriving soon."

Spinel Sun stared at his master.  _Now who could that be this time?  Oh well.  I'll know sooner or later._

~Upstairs~ 

Touya couldn't sleep.  He'd been tossing and turning on the bed for almost an hour now.  He couldn't stop thinking about what happened.  He couldn't stop thinking about Naomi.

_If it had gone on any longer, she could have killed herself._

He remembered Hiiragizawa's words.  He couldn't do anything to help her.  He just stood there and watched her almost die.

"Kuso_,_" he cursed as he punched his pillow to a pulp.

"We all feel the same way," Syaoran suddenly said.

Touya braced his upper body with his elbows as he looked at the boy lying across the room.

"When Mori said that he had already killed Naomi, I wanted to beat him up.  But I couldn't.  He was too powerful," Syaoran continued as he pushed his hands under his head.  "She sacrificed herself even though she knew she might die."

"I hated myself after the first attack because I wasn't strong enough to save Sakura on my own.  But I hate myself even more now because I wasn't able to help the one who really saved Sakura.  It feels as though I failed them both."

Touya laid back on his bed as he thought about what Syaoran said.  He didn't like that boy because he was jealous of him.  He knows it was unreasonable but he loves his sister dearly.  He didn't want her to get hurt the way he was hurt when Kaho left him.

But now…well, he still doesn't like him but he respects him.  It took a great amount of courage to say what he said, especially to Touya.  And he knows Syaoran would risk his life just to protect Sakura.

Just like the way Touya will risk his life to prevent Naomi from getting hurt again.  But what can he do?  He may have powers but he doesn't know how to use them the way Syaoran can.

Mori was right.  He is pathetic.  Among all of them he was the weakest.  How could he protect Naomi if he was weak?

"If you're still worried about her, why don't you check on her?"  Syaoran spoke up again.

Touya looked at the bed beside him.  He knows that Yukito was still awake and listening in on their conversation.  He didn't want to bother him.  Why else would he listen to that gaki even if what he said made sense?  _Iie_, he thought.

He knows that his friend is battling his own demons since Yue is deeply involved in this problem.  Much deeper than any of them.  But Touya doesn't blame him.  After all, he never would have met Naomi if Mori didn't appear.

Finally deciding that the brat was right, he stood up and pulled his shirt and shoes on.  He wordlessly went out of the room and started to walk down the hall.  But then he stopped.  He didn't notice it before but the apartment was magically altered from the inside.

What actually was a small apartment from the outside was changed into a mansion from the inside.  He looked at the large second floor.  _There must be about six rooms in this area_, Touya thought as he sweatdropped.  _Hiiragizawa-san hadn't changed his taste in home décor at all.  But which room is Naomi in?_

"Touya-kun!"  Nakuru suddenly grabbed him from behind.  "I missed you so much.  Did you miss me?"

"Akizuki-chan­, let go of me."  Touya said as he tried to shake her off.

Nakuru jumped off his back and smilingly faced him.  "Why are you still up?"

"I wanted to go out for a breather."  He hoped Akizuki would go away and leave him alone.  He wasn't up to any of her annoying stunts.

"Oh?  Is that so," Nakuru baited him.  "Well I suppose you wouldn't want to come with me to check up on Naomi."  She turned her back on him and started to walk away.  She had already realized what was going on between him and Naomi.

"Hey wait!"  Touya ran to catch up with her.  She stopped walking and looked at him expectantly.

"Hai," she said.

_Mou!  She's gonna make me beg to take me with her.  She's so infuriating_, he sighed.  "Ano, can I come with you?"

"And the magic word is…"

Touya glared at her before saying, "Onegai."

"Hai!"

They walked down the hall and up the stairs to the third floor.  He followed Nakuru to the last room and passed her when she opened the door.

The moonlight was streaming in from the window bathing Naomi with a soft glow.  Her hair looked very dark against her pale skin and white silk pajama.  Propped beside her head was the teddy bear he had given her that afternoon.

He turned when he heard the door click and saw that Nakuru had left the room.  _Arigatou Akizuki-chan_, he thought.  He walked closer to Naomi's bed and stared at her for some time.  Then he gently sat down on the edge of her bed and stared some more.

"I may be weak, Naomi, but I swear to you…I'll do everything I can to stop you from getting hurt."  He pushed strands of hair away from her face and cupped her cheeks then he bent closer to her face.  "Aishiteru," he whispered near her ear.

With that he sat down on the floor and took her hand.  He touched her hand with his lips in a feathery kiss then laid his head on the bed.  Couple of minutes later he was fast asleep.

An hour later, Naomi slowly woke up when she felt a familiar aura in the room.  She forced her eyes to open and when she did she saw her best friend floating above her.  Naomi's lips moved to say her name but her friend's fingers stopped her from saying it and looked to the side of the bed.

Turning her head slightly to see what her friend was looking at, she saw Touya hunched on her bed, sleeping soundly.  His hands were gently cupping hers.

She slowly sat up, not wanting to wake him up for he looked so peaceful.  Raising her other hand she touched his hair and his cheek.  She smiled as she remembered her dream a while ago.  She had dreamt that Touya said he loved her.

"Aishiteru, Touya.  I only wish you loved me too." Naomi whispered with a blush.  She suddenly remembered that her friend was watching so she blushed some more.  But when she looked around the room, her friend was nowhere to be seen although she knows that she was near.

Naomi took one last glance at Touya before she gently pulled her hand away from his.  She stood up and went out to search for her friend.  The aura led her to the room on the ground floor.

Naomi went directly to the window overlooking the garden.  She stared outside for a moment and watched Eriol talking with a man in the gazebo.  It was dark outside but she knew whom it was.

"A full circle," she said as the last piece of the puzzle had finally appeared.  "Everybody is finally here, ne, Nadeshiko-san?"

The angel appeared from the shadows across the room and glided towards her.  They faced each other and smiled their gentlest smiles.  It was like they were looking at a mirror for even their smiles looked alike.  The only differences between them were their clothes and Nadeshiko's angel wings.

"How are you, child?"  Nadeshiko asked the girl.

Naomi glanced away from her friend's gaze.  The truth was she felt really bad.  She felt weak, tired and, most of all, guilty.  She knows that Eriol got mad at her because she disobeyed his orders.  But if she was to choose again she won't change anything that she did tonight.

Well maybe there is something that she's regretting.  She regrets acting so selfishly during her fight with Mori.  All she thought about during that fight was getting her revenge.  She wanted to stab him deep with Syaoran's sword.  She wanted him to suffer just as much her mother suffered.

That's all she could ever think about that's why she didn't see Mori raise his hand.  That's why she wasn't able to jump away from him sooner.  If she hadn't heard Sakura shout she could have been dead by now.

It was then that she realized that revenge wasn't why she was here in Tomoeda.  She was here to protect her new friends and save them from Mori.  And protect them she did, even though she knew how dangerous invoking Clow Reed's blood was.

Fate gave her another chance to change her life.  Fate has given her new people to love in replacement for her mother's love.  This was what Fate prepared for her.  _A full circle._

"Neilan is worried about you," Nadeshiko said when Naomi still hasn't answered her.

Naomi faced her friend again, this time smiling sadly.  "How long have we known each other, Nadeshiko-san?"

"Long enough.  I remember the day I met your mother.  She was so shocked to see me because I looked exactly like you.  I had to go down and see you for myself."

Naomi remembered that day too.  That was the first time she saw an angel.  "And even before that day, Okaasan never showed herself to me.  She had always sent you to check up on me.  She still does."

"Your mother loves you very much.  You know that.  But she's not ready to see you yet."  Nadeshiko sighed when Naomi just bowed her head in despair.  "Very well.  Do you really want to know why Neilan hasn't shown herself to you?  It's because she hasn't earned her wings yet.  In all these years she still hasn't forgiven herself for not being able to love you when she was alive."

"Forgiveness," Nadeshiko said as she floated closer to embrace the other girl.  "That's what you need to stop all of this hurting.  Your mother must forgive herself for what she didn't do.  And you must forgive your father for what he did do."

Naomi closed her eyes to shut away the pain in her heart.  She knew what Nadeshiko said was right.  But she was not ready to let go of the pain yet.

She felt Nadeshiko's hand on the side of her face.  "Time will heal everything.  You'll see."  Then she poised to leave.

"Where are you going?"  Naomi asked.  She saw her friend shoot a longing glance towards the gazebo.  "Wakatta.  But it's not nice to eavesdrop, you know," she couldn't help but laugh.

"It won't be eavesdropping if they know I'm there," Nadeshiko replied in defense before looking at the door.  She smiled when she saw her son standing there.  "Touya."

Touya just stood there in shock.  He had seen his mother a few times after she had died but that was in their home.  He wasn't expecting to see her here.  But, most of all, he wasn't expecting to see her and Naomi together.  It seemed to him that they've known each other for a long time now.

He started when he saw his mother glide towards him.  "Okaasan."

"I'm proud of you, my son.  You've done a good job taking care of Sakura," Nadeshiko said as she hugged him.  And before she disappeared, she whispered in his ear "take good care of Naomi too."

Touya closed his eyes as he felt his mother's touch.  It wasn't his imagination this time.  He really felt her touch.  When he opened his eyes it was Naomi who was smiling up at him.

"Daijoubu?"  She was glad that mother and son had seen each other again.

"Aa.  Just surprised.  What about you?  How do you feel?"

"I feel great!"  In a way she did when she saw Touya.  Her smile turned into a puzzled expression when she saw he was looking at her oddly.  "Doushite?"

Touya felt his heart bursting with happiness.  And it wasn't just because of his accidental meeting with his mother.

~Flashback~ 

He had felt her hand on his face when she thought he was sleeping soundly beside her bed.  It was hard to stay asleep when his skin tingled from her soft touch.  He had wanted her to touch him more but instead he got something better.

"Aishiteru, Touya.  I only wish you loved me too," he heard her say.

It took all of his effort to continue on pretending to be asleep when all he wanted to do was shout for joy.  But he continued his charade because he didn't want to scare her off.

When she left the room he thought she was just going to the bathroom.  But when she didn't come back, he worried.  _Maybe she fainted and had hit her head_, he had thought.  So he went out to look for her.  But he couldn't find her anywhere in the third and second floor.  It left only the room in the ground floor.

And that's where he found her hugging his mother.  At first he thought that his mind was playing tricks on him but then Nadeshiko turned and greeted him.

~End of flashback~

"Doushite?"  Naomi asked.

But instead of answering her, she was surprised when Touya suddenly embraced her.  She felt his arm slowly circling her body and pressing him close to her.  She looked up at him with shocked eyes and asked again, "doushite?"

And again he didn't answer.  She watched his head slowly bend down towards hers.  Her eyes automatically closed as if a magic spell had woven itself around them.  It wasn't long before his lips touched hers.

Sparks flew as though thousands of fireworks were lit and flew into a star filled night.  Their hearts thumping madly in unison.  When their lips separated, they looked deep into each other's eyes as thought they were looking at each other's souls.

"I love you, Naomi," Touya whispered against her lips.

Naomi felt tears form in her eyes.  No one has ever said those words to her before.  She felt like she was going to burst with happiness.

"Aishiteru, Touya."  Her tears were falling even though she was smiling her brightest smile.  She felt Touya brush away her tears before bending to kiss her eyes then the tip of her nose.

Sighing a happy sigh, she laid her head on his chest.  They stayed like that for a long time, content in being in each other's arms.

Some time later, Touya hugged Naomi tighter.  "Don't ever scare me like that again," he said, his lips on her hair.

Naomi didn't reply.  She didn't want to lie to him so she said nothing.  There was no certainty on what the outcome of their fight with Mori would be.  He was a powerful and dangerous man.  If she had to risk her life just to keep him and his sister safe, she would willingly do so.

When she didn't answer, Touya got worried.  He tipped her chin up and searched her face.  "Promise me you won't put your life on the line," he whispered.

"You don't know how much I want to promise you that," she said as she raised her hand to touch his cheek with her palm.  "But I can't.  I don't want to promise you something that I may not be able to keep.  You deserve better than that."

"Demo," he insisted.

"Iie," she placed her fingers on his lips.  Then she thought of something.  She moved out of his arms and took his hand.

Facing his palm up, she placed her hand over it.  Seconds later, the space between their hands started to shine.  Touya felt something cold was forming on his palm.

When Naomi lifted her hand, Touya saw a circular pendant with a cherry blossom carved on it.  A soft glow caught his eye and saw that Naomi made a sharp ice.  She pricked her finger with it and let a drop of her blood slide down his palm to the pendant.  The instant her blood touched the pendant, its translucent color changed into pink.

Then she took his other hand and did the same thing except that she kissed his pricked finger to rob it of its sting.  When his blood mixed with hers in the pendant, its color changed again, this time into red.  He also felt the change in its temperature.  The pendant was no longer ice cold instead it was warm and comforting.

Naomi had cut a few long strands of her hair and pressed her thumb and forefinger on one end.  She let her fingers slide from one end to the other magically braiding the hair into a thick black string.  She inserted one end of the string through the eye of the pendant and tied off the ends together.

She held the necklace to him and waited for him to bend down.  When he did she placed the necklace around his neck and gently laid the pendant against his chest.

"As long as love exists between us, that pendant won't melt," she said as she laid her hands on his chest.  "So even if I'm gone it will not melt because death would not stop me from loving you.  Death would not keep me away from you.  Just as your mother's death did not stop her from loving and watching over you and your family."

This was not the answer Touya was hoping for but he was content with it.  It was up to him to keep her from risking her life.  He would provide that which she can't deliver.

He felt her body slump against his and knew that she was asleep.  Making the necklace had made her weak.  _I guess the first thing I should do is stop her from using magic until her power is completely restored_, he sighed.

He picked her up and went to Eriol's big chair.  He sat down and gently positioned Naomi on his lap.  He tucked her head under his chin and circled his arms around her placing his hands over hers on her lap.

(AN:  Duh!  There's a couch in that room remember?  But it's more romantic this way.  I love mushy stuff.)

That was how Eriol found them when he and his guest entered the room.  They stared smilingly at the sleeping couple.

"I guess almost everything is in order now," Eriol said to the man.

"Almost," Fujitaka smiled back.

To be continued… 


	12. The Truth Unfolds

**BISHLOV'S WORDS OF GRATITUDE AND OTHERS:**

**O.O – Sorry if my grammar has offended you.  I try my best and I think it's passable considering that English isn't my primary language.  Please bear with me.  And to what were you referring about the 'if you ignore an elder in China…' part.**

**Saky-li – Er, sorry if I haven't posted this much sooner.  I was kinda busy with my other fics *toe shuffling*.**

**crystal-chan – I love mush too but sadly there are very few (if not none) in this chapter.  It really depends on your POV.**

**ARCHANGEMON – Er, thanks for the constructive criticism (I'm guessing that's what it was).  I really appreciate it.  And, yeah, some women are more vengeful than men.  I, too, hope that this will maintain its integrity to the very end if ever I get to finish it.**

**DISCLAIMER:**  I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

KINOMOTO'S ANGEL 

By bishounen lovah a.k.a. touya_mou

Chapter 12: The Truth Unfolds

Touya woke up as sunlight poured from the window illuminating the entire room.  He was alone.  Instead of Naomi on his lap, he found a blanket that she placed, tucking the ends underneath his shoulders.

He stood up and happily stared out the window.  The grass and the flowers were damp from the morning dew and the birds were joyfully singing a merry tune.  _It's going to be a beautiful day_, he thought as he touched the pendant underneath his shirt.

He went out of the room in search of Naomi.  His nose led him to the back of the house where something delicious was cooking.  His stomach growled loudly in reaction.  They haven't eaten anything since lunchtime yesterday.

Touya slowly opened the kitchen door and was greeted by the melodious humming of Naomi.  He just stood there staring at her as she busily went from the counter to the stove.  She was wearing a white sundress under the frilly apron.  Most of her hair was loosely tied with a red ribbon while some curly strands were framing her face.

"Ohayo, Touya-kun."  Eriol greeted from behind him.

Touya jumped in surprise then flushed red at being caught spying on Naomi. He glared at the boy who just smiled his annoying knowing smile in return.

"Ohayo," Naomi greeted them both although she was only looking at Touya.  The two became unaware of everything else but each other.  They were unaware of Eriol who was looking from one to the other with his amusement barely contained.

"I hope you had a good night's sleep last night," he said after he cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Hai!"  They said and blushed in unison.

_Ah, love is truly in the air_, Eriol thought as he walked pass them and looked at what Naomi had prepared for breakfast.

"Have a seat."  Naomi said after a while as she shyly took Touya's hand and pulled him to the table.  "Nakuru and Spinel are already calling the others so breakfast will be served in a few minutes."

"Ano.  Can I help you with anything?"  Touya fidgeted on his seat because Eriol was sitting across the table smiling deviously at him.

"Iie.  I have everything under control.  Besides, you're a guest so you don't have to do anything."

Touya was about to point out that she was also a guest in his house the other day and yet she was the one who made dessert.  He forgot about what he was about to say because Syaoran entered the room stomping madly and glaring at him with bug eyes.

"Ohayo," he greeted Eriol and Naomi but was ignoring Touya except for the glower that he's been shooting at him.

A second later Yukito entered the room carrying Neilan in his arms.  Touya had forgotten about her.  It was a good thing Yukito had taken over.

"Sumanu," he said as Yukito handed her over.  "I forgot about her.  Did she cry much last night?"

At that, Syaoran glared again at Touya.  _So that's why he's so angry at this time in the morning_, Touya sweatdropped.

"Did you sleep well last night?"  Eriol fanned the flame.

"Aa.  It was restful."  Yukito said quickly so Syaoran could not start his tirade.

Syaoran shot another look at Touya that seemed to say that he was lucky Yukito was there.

"Gomen, Syaoran," Naomi said softly to the boy as she placed a plateful of omelet on the table.  "Did Neilan keep you up last night?"

Syaoran felt his anger disappear as he looked up at Naomi's smiling face.  He felt a blush starting so he quickly looked down.  "Iie.  She didn't bother me that much."

It was Touya's turn to glare at Syaoran.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, minna-san!"

Sakura, Tomoyo, Meiling and Nakuru entered the room.  The floating sun guardians, who were fighting as usual, followed them.

"Did not…did too…did not…did too!"  They were shouting.

"Wanna fight over it?"  Keroberos started waving and punching his fists as though he was a boxer in a boxing ring.

"Bring it on, stuffed animal!"  Spinel dared as he mimicked Keroberos' actions.

"Stop it this instant!"  Naomi said as she laid more food on the table.  "Or else…"

"Or else what?"  Spinel and Keroberos said in unison.

"Or else you won't get any breakfast."

"You wouldn't dare."  The two flew right in front of Naomi's face and started arguing with her.

Naomi animatedly sighed a bubble before grabbing the two of them by their napes making them squirm madly. 

Minutes later they were all seated before the table while Spinel and Keroberos were banging in the tied up cookie tin where Naomi placed them.

"This is all your fault…no, it's yours…no, yours!"  They were still arguing.  The others just sweatdropped.

After breakfast they had let the two out of their makeshift prison but were still punished.  They were ordered to clean the kitchen and wash the dishes after they had their breakfast.  The others then proceeded to the other room so they could finally talk about what had happened.

Eriol sat on his big chair with Nakuru standing at his side.  Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Meiling were sitting opposite him on the big couch while Touya sat on a smaller one near Eriol with Yukito on his side.  Naomi, as expected, was at her usual position besides the window.

"All right, Hiiragizawa," Syaoran said, "we're all here now so start explaining."

"As I said to you last night, my cute little descendant, it's not my story to tell."

Everybody looked at Naomi but she remained quiet.  After a while she spoke up, "Someone is not here yet."

"You mean we have to wait for Keroberos and Spinel Sun?"  Syaoran impatiently asked.

"Them and someone else," she said as she turned her back and looked outside the window.

"Hiiragizawa…"

"We'll wait," Eriol said firmly.

The two guardians entered the quiet room a few minutes later but still Naomi hadn't talked.

"Whom exactly are we waiting for?" Touya finally asked.

"He's here," Naomi said as she looked at the door waiting for it to open.

All eyes were on the door when it did.  They were all surprised (with the exception of Eriol and Naomi) when Fujitaka Kinomoto walked in.

"Otousan!"  Sakura exclaimed.

"Gomen nasai for being late," Fujitaka said.  He smiled at Sakura and Touya before turning to Eriol.  "Have you started already?"

"We were waiting for you Fujitaka-san."  Eriol replied.

"What's going on here?"  Touya finally demanded.

"Perhaps you should first introduce yourself, Fujitaka-san."  Eriol suggested.

"Sou da ne," Fujitaka agreed as he noticed the confused faces staring back at him.  "I am a reincarnate of Clow Reed."

It was as if he had dropped a bomb.  None of them reacted.  The wind animatedly blew in a dust ball across the room as they just stared at Fujitaka with open mouths and dot like eyes.  Fujitaka, Eriol and Naomi just sweatdropped.

"But Eriol is…" Sakura pointed at the boy.

"I never told any of you this but I am only half reincarnate of Clow Reed.  The other half is Fujitaka-san," Eriol explained.

"And you knew this?"  Touya asked Naomi.  He had suddenly remembered his father's odd behavior towards Naomi the other night during dinner.

"Hai.  My mother knew him before I was even born."

"But why didn't you tell us?"  Sakura asked her father.

"I thought you didn't want to know.  You wanted to keep your being a card captor, then later on the Card Mistress, a secret so I said nothing."  Fujitaka said as he sat on the seat opposite Touya. 

"Didn't you ever wonder, Sakura, why the Clow Book was in your father's basement in the first place?"  Eriol asked in amusement.

"Actually, no.  I never thought about that," Sakura sweatdropped and laughed pathetically.  _I can't believe it!  Father is a reincarnate of Clow Reed and I never knew it_, she thought.  Touya, Yukito and Keroberos were all thinking about the same thing.

"Now that were all here perhaps we could begin," Eriol said to Naomi.  She nodded and went to his side.

"For more than a century, the Clow Book had been in the possession of the prominent Li Clan thinking it was theirs since they are the descendants of Clow Reed.  From generation to generation, each member of the clan had tried to be the master of the Clow Cards but all of them failed to even open the book.  They could not understand that it wasn't their destiny to be the owner of Clow Reed's most powerful creation.  They were so full of themselves just because they have the blood of Clow Reed in them."

Syaoran cringed at what Naomi said not just because he is a Li but because he was one of those Lis who thought the Clow Cards ought to be his instead of Sakura's just because he is a descendant of Clow Reed.  Fortunately, Sakura had unknowingly taught him the error of his ways.

And then it had hit him.

"You're a Li too!"  Syaoran exclaimed.  "That's why you have that bracelet.  And that's why you were able to use my sword.  You even invoked the blood of Clow Reed in you."

"But how can that be?"  Meiling asked.  Sakura had already filled them in last night.  "I never saw you before in any of our family gatherings.  I never even heard of your name either."

"Perhaps we should let her continue with her story."  Fujitaka knew how hard it already was to tell the story without being sidetracked.

"Yes, my mother was once a member of the Li Clan.  But everything in her life changed ever since he met Enishi Mori eighteen years ago.  She had fallen deeply in love with him but he was just using her to get to the Clow Cards.  She didn't notice it.  She was too naïve and believed all of his lies.  But the elders of the clan saw him for what he was."

"Did the elders try to separate them?"  Syaoran asked.  _Perhaps the elders are not that bad at all_, he thought as he remembered his conversation with his mother before he left Hong Kong.

"On the contrary, they pushed them together to the point that they were betrothed," Naomi let out a snort like laugh.  "Mori had the potential to open the book.  The elders made a deal with him.  They would let him marry Neilan if he manages to open the Clow Book and make the cards his.  That way the Clow Cards would still belong to the Li Clan.  All of them used my mother as though she was a pawn in a chess game."

Naomi paused as she felt the hate come back to her.  She didn't realize that her hands were balled into a fist until Touya reached over and pried her fingers open so he could link his fingers with hers.  One look at Touya's encouraging smile and she felt her anger go away.  She took a cleansing breath and continued telling the story.__

"He had managed to open the book but something went wrong.  The Seal Beast didn't appear when the book was opened.  The elders and Mori didn't think this was a problem so he continued on catching the few Clow Cards that got separated from the book."

"So that's why I have no memory of Mori," Keroberos muttered.  "But why wasn't I able to wake up when the Clow Book was opened?"

"Isn't the answer obvious?  It's because you're such a useless guardian," Spinel baited.

"What did you say?  I'm a better guardian than you'll ever be.  Take back what you said!"  Keroberos shouted as he flew towards Spinel to wrestle him.  He stopped when Fujitaka spoke up.

"I can answer that question," he said.  "Clow Reed needs to have some criteria in choosing who the next owner of the Clow Cards will be.  That's why none of the Li Clan could open the book.  Because they didn't have what it was Clow Reed wants.  But whatever it was, Mori seemed to have it because he was able to open the book.  Unfortunately, another thing was needed to wake the Seal Beast from his sleep.  The person who could wake up Keroberos should be someone with a good heart."

"The Clow Cards when they fall in the wrong hands could mean disaster.  That's why Clow Reed had to make sure that whoever will own it must have a good heart," Eriol added.

"I still don't understand, Otousan," Sakura said.  "What would happen if the Clow Book was opened yet wasn't able to summon Keroberos?"

"Keroberos is the guardian of the Seal.  He would have to approve of the person who opened the book so he could entrust the cards to that person.  It was just like what happened to you.  He knew that you have a good heart that's why he helped you in being the Card Mistress," Fujitaka further explained.

"Mori didn't have a good heart for he plans to use the cards for his selfish needs.  He also made use of despicable ways in order to get the book and the cards.  That's why he wasn't able to summon Keroberos.  Right from the start he had lost his chance to be the owner of the cards because he didn't pass Keroberos' test," Naomi continued.

"That's your test, O Mighty Guardian?"  Spinel snorted.  "Wake the Seal Beast and he'll give you the most powerful creation in the world."

"You're really getting on my nerve.  Wanna take this outside?"  Keroberos pushed up his imaginary sleeves.

"What's wrong with this place," Spinel dared back.  "Afraid your friends might see you get beaten up?"

The others just stared at the two little guardians with lots of sweatdrops.  Naomi sighed again at being interrupted.

"But as I've said he had still continued to capture the cards and hadn't encountered any problems until Yue's final judgment came."

She was half expecting for Yukito to pick up on the conversation but he had just kept on staring hard at her.  She just shrugged and tried to detach herself from the story, not wanting to feel her anger towards Yue.

"Yue was then under the identity of Ukieya Takeshi, Mori's best friend.  The elders and Mori weren't expecting Yue to show primarily because Keroberos didn't show up either.  I guess you could imagine the surprise he felt when his best friend turned out to be the Moon Guardian.  They were not aware of any test since Mori was the first to open the Clow Book.  But he still insisted in facing Yue.  Needless to say, he failed.

He couldn't accept this that's why he wants revenge.  He thinks that he was destined to be the owner of the Clow Cards but that Yue came in his way."

"I don't think that's all he's mad about, Naomi," Fujitaka said.

"You're wrong, Kinomoto-san," she looked back at the man coolly.  She does not want to accept what he was trying to say to her.  Mori had never loved her mother.  She was nothing more to him than his ticket to the Clow Book.

"But wasn't there a consequence in failing the final judgment?"  Tomoyo pointed out.

"You're as observant as ever, Tomoyo-chan," Eriol drawled.  "Yes, there was a consequence.  The same consequence as what would have happened if you had failed the test, Sakura."

"Hoe!  But Yue said that if I failed, love would no longer exist in this world," Sakura was starting to get confused again.  If Mori had failed the test that would mean Yue had erased that emotion from the hearts of the people.  _And as far as I know I'm still in love with Syaoran,_ she thought with a blush.

"That's where I came in," Fujitaka said.  "All of these were a mistake.  The Li Elders should have never allowed Mori to open the book because he was not destined to.  It was not his fate to summon Yue least of all undergo his test.  As a consequence love, as we know it, ceased to exist.  And I couldn't bear to see such thing happen for, you see, I have met Nadeshiko just then."

"I recollected the Clow Cards and locked them again in the book.  I tried to erase Yue's spell and almost succeeded," Fujitaka paused as he looked apologetically at Naomi.  "I managed to restore love in the hearts of all the people, except for one.  The curse on Neilan Li was unbreakable since she was directly involved with Enishi Mori."

"There was also a consequence to what Fujitaka-kun did.  In replacement to restoring love, one person must not only remain incapable of loving but must also be void of feeling any kind of emotion whatsoever except for sadness and pain.  Neilan Li volunteered to be that person," Eriol added.

Everybody gasped at what he had said.  They could not begin to imagine how the woman lived her life feeling nothing but immense sadness and pain.

"It was what she had wanted," Naomi said in a low voice.  "She did not want her family and friends to live without love so she sacrificed herself."

"It wasn't just herself that she sacrificed," Touya whispered to her as he squeezed her hand.  "She had also sacrificed you."

"I don't blame her nor Kinomoto-san, for that matter.  I respect my mother for making that decision and your father for making things go right again," Naomi whispered back.

"There's still one thing I don't understand though," Meiling said.  "How come Syaoran and I never heard of you or Neilan before?"

"That's because after Mori had failed to pass the final judgment, the elders blamed everything on my mother saying that she shouldn't have brought him with her.  They needed to wash their hands from what happened and they needed a scapegoat.  They disowned her and destroyed any records or memorabilia that would connect her to the prominent Li Clan," Naomi said bitterly.

"Kuso," Syaoran muttered.  "They really are a bunch of good-for-nothing animals."  But something else was bothering him.  If Neilan Li was not capable of loving anyone how come…

Syaoran quickly looked at Naomi as though a wooden plank had hit him across the face.  _It couldn't be_, he said to himself but was already doing math on his head.  _Could it be…?_

Naomi understood what her cousin was thinking.  There was no point in hiding it any longer.

"Yes, Syaoran.  You are right," she smiled sadly at the boy.

"Huh?  Did I miss something?"  Meiling reacted.  They looked at first at the sad face of Naomi then to the even sadder and sympathetic face of Syaoran.

"I guess my cute little descendant had finally solved the last puzzle," Eriol said.

But Syaoran had to be sure.  He had to hear the actual words coming from Naomi's lips.  "Are you really…ano…is Enishi Mori really your father?"

The others looked in surprise at the girl.  "Hai," she said.  "However hard it is for me to accept it, it's true."

All of them fell into a deep silence as they tried to let all of the information sink in.  It was Yukito who finally broke the silence when several minutes passed by.

"What are we going to do now?" he asked.

"We must destroy Mori."  Naomi replied.

"You're willing to kill your own father?"

"I never did acknowledge him as my father.  He may have given me life but that's all he ever did.  Besides, it won't be called killing if the person is already dead."

"What does that mean now?"  Meiling asked.

"It means that Enishi Mori is already dead.  He died a year after the final judgment," Fujitaka replied.

"Hoe!  You mean the guy we fought yesterday was actually a ghost?"  Sakura felt a sudden chill down her spine.  She could feel all of her blood leaving her face.

"Yes," Eriol confirmed.  "Mori is now a ghost embodied by the anger and hatred that he feels towards Yue and the Card Mistress.  His desire for revenge had made him alive again.  This alone would make it hard for us to defeat him since it seems impossible to kill a dead person.

Unfortunately, we have another problem.  All powers based on the magic of Clow Reed are useless against him.  He had turned into a powerful sorcerer with an acquired immunity to the power of Clow.  All are incapable of directly attacking Mori with their powers.  That is except for Naomi, Syaoran and Touya.  We must think of a way to use our powers to protect them so they can focus their powers on offense."

"That's right," Fujitaka agreed.  "From what I've heard from Eriol-san last night, the best tactic would be to use the power of Clow as defense while Naomi, Syaoran and Touya attack Mori."

"How can I do that?"  Touya asked confusedly.  "I don't know how to utilize my powers."

"You will find a way," Naomi said.  "Touya, do you mind if I bail out again in taking care of Neilan?  I need to do something else."

"I don't mind," Touya replied as he watched Naomi walk to Syaoran and Sakura.

"Sakura, is it okay if I borrowed Syaoran for a while?"

"Eh?"  Sakura blinkingly pointed at herself with a blush.  _Why would she ask me such a question?_

"I don't know when my powers will be back so I need to teach Syaoran how to fully utilize his."

"This should be interesting," Eriol said with a smile.  "Let's see if it's really possible to teach an old dog new tricks."

"I'm not a dog, Hiiragizawa!"  Syaoran shouted.  He noticed Naomi waiting for him at the door.  "I'll show how you powerful I can be," he said to the other boy before following Naomi outside.

Fujitaka was watching his son scowl jealously at Syaoran.  It was nice to finally see him with a love life of his own.

"Touya," he said as he stood up.  "It's time I teach you something too."

Touya looked at his father questioningly.  He had suddenly realized that there are lots of things he doesn't know about his father.  He hopes that whatever he would teach him would help destroy Mori.

Tomoyo turned to Meiling and smiled at her.  They were the only ones who doesn't have any power but that wouldn't stop her from trying to help out.

"It seems everybody will be busy for a while," she said.  "I guess it's up to us to cook lunch."

"I guess so," Meiling sighed.  They left the room together leaving behind Eriol, Sakura and the four guardians.

"And that leaves us to think of a strategy," Eriol said as he watched the door close again.  "We have at least a week to think of a plan before Mori will attack again."

To be continued…


	13. Syaoran's Training

**BISHLOV NOTES AND WORDS OF GRATITUDE:**

I wasn't supposed to update this until next month but my guilt was slowly eating its way through my internal organs.  From this chapter on I'm going to include this fic in my regular update cycle again.  No need to worry anymore.  Thanks, minna-san, for your vote of confidence.

Saky-li – I know it's been so long.  Please forgive me.

ARCHANGEMON – Thanks for the all-caps and the nice words.  Your review was one of the reasons why I decided to continue this.  I have to admit that I'm having a hard time writing this fic but I'm gonna try my best.

lozza-pilgrim – Here's the update.  It's a lot late but, hey, it's better than never ne?

My mystery reviewer a.k.a. blank - You've already sent me enough reviews to make me feel good about myself again.  Thanks.

?????? – I guess I just needed you to cuss me some…Thanks for the push!

**DISCLAIMER:**  I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

**KINOMOTO'S ANGEL**

By bishounen lovah

Chapter 13: Syaoran's Training

"What are you going to teach me?"  Syaoran asked.  They had been sitting in the gazebo and staring at the house for quite some time now.  He was anxious to start his training.

"The first thing you should learn is patience," Naomi replied with a small smile.

"Nani!  What kind of training is this anyway," he demanded as he jumped up to face her.  "We don't have any time to fool around.  I need to get stronger before Mori attacks again."

"There's no use in being strong when you keep on insisting on rushing into a fight without thinking what your tactics are."  She patted the cushion beside her, urging him to sit back down.

Syaoran conceded that she had a point.  He thought about the first attack.  He did not stop to think what he should do back then.  Instead he focused on what he _could_ do.  He had almost used up all of his powers before he got to use the right ofuda.

_No.  I couldn't think of anything else but to save Sakura.  My carelessness had cost me in almost losing her._  He took a deep breath to calm himself then sat down again beside his cousin.

"In order to become strong you must first learn what your weaknesses are.  Do you know what yours are?"

He thought about that.  They had already established that one of his weaknesses was rushing into a fight.  But what could be the others?  All he could think about was that he's weak, period.

"Think about it, Syaoran.  What was it that went wrong last night?"

He recalled what had happened starting from the moment he and Keroberos arrived.  He had agreed to release Touya while the sun guardian helped Sakura and Yue.  The first attack had taught him to slow down a bit and he almost had Touya freed if only Mori hadn't caught him by surprise and bound him with that dark mist.  He looked back at Naomi and knew that he was on the right track.

"You must learn to be aware of your surroundings," she said.  "Never turn your back to your enemy.  That could be fatal."

He nodded in agreement.  That was a huge mistake on his part.

"And it's not enough to just keep an eye on him.  There will be moments when you won't be able to see your enemy.  That's why you must learn to sense auras."

"I know how to sense auras," Syaoran defended.

"Yes but you only sense an aura when the person is right in front of you.  Am I right?"  Naomi did not have to wait for an answer.  She nodded to gesture at the window in front of them.  "Tell me whose aura you feel in that room.  Close your eyes and relax.  Feel the energy emanating from your surroundings."

He did what he was told.  He closed his eyes and emptied his brain.  Soon he saw his surroundings in his mind.  He could feel the wind gently blowing the leaves of a tree and the birds playfully flying around them.

And then he sensed them.  Different auras with different colors were swirling around the room.  He focused on one aura after another, trying to identify whose they were.  "I can sense Eriol.  His ki is the most powerful among them.  Then there's Sakura, Yue, Keroberos, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun."

"Very good.  Now can you tell me their exact positions in the room?  It is important to pinpoint an aura.  You can't always use your lasin board."  She continued when Syaoran looked doubtfully at her.

He sighed impatiently before closing his eyes again.  It took him twenty minutes or so before he could make himself sense ki without them swirling.  In his mind's eyes he could see each aura staying in one place floating like an undisturbed mist.

"Eriol's sitting across Sakura.  Ruby Moon's seated beside her while Yue is standing behind them."  His head jerked to the side when he felt two auras zinging across the room.  His mouth twitched in a smirk.  "The sun guardians are chasing each other again."

"You learn fast, Syaoran.  Let's broaden the field then.  Search the house for the others."

He stood up as though to take a better view of the house in his mind.  His head was starting to thump from tiredness but didn't stop.  He wanted to learn quickly.  Several minutes later, he found Meiling and Tomoyo in the kitchen.  It took him some time before he could locate Kinomoto-sensei and Touya in a room at the far end of the second floor.

He looked at Naomi who was smiling at him in approval.  It was then that he noticed something.  "You have no ki."

"Of course I have one.  You just can't sense it."

"How come?  How can you do it?"

"That's you next lesson.  Hiding a ki is very useful ability especially if you want to spy on somebody."

"Now why would I want to do that?"

"Oh I don't know," Naomi shrugged although her eyes were glinting with mischief.  "You may be able to use it someday.  Besides, hiding your aura could save a lot from your energy once you get the hang of it."

Though he was doubtful of the use of hiding his aura, he, nonetheless, followed her instructions.  It wasn't long before he could learn how to hide his green ki.  "So what now?"

"Now we're going to play hide and seek," she said as she released a small amount of aura.  Syaoran could see the silvery light covering her entire body.  "I'll hide while you seek.  Just give me a five-minute head start then come look for me."

Before he could react, she had already ran towards the nearest tree and climbed up to jump onto the roof.  He blinked unbelievingly at the amazing speed and agility that his cousin showed.  Less than a second later she was gone.  He sat down again and concentrated.  Her aura was already getting weak as she went farther and farther.  By the time the five minutes were up he could no longer sense even a tiny bit of her ki.

He followed suit and jumped on the roof.  There he could see most of the residential area of Tomoeda.  He looked from left to right, a little irritated at the way the wind was blowing his hair to his eyes.

_There will be moments when you won't be able to see your enemy_, he recalled what she said.  He closed his eyes again and a second later he felt a flicker of the silver aura far left.  _I'll get you, you'll see._

~Hours later, before sundown~

_Kuso!  Where is she?_  Syaoran stood on the rooftop of Tomoeda Elementary School.  He had been close to finding her several times but every time he though he had her he'd lose the aura and return back to square one.  He sat down cross-legged on the cement roof and thought hard.  _What did I do wrong?  Why does her aura kept on disappearing?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud growling.  He sighed (anime-style) at the sound.  His stomach was starting to protest because he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.  He placed his chin on his hand and thought grimly.  _I'd better find her before I die from hunger.  Naomi's aura was weak although noticeable.  She wouldn't deliberately hide her aura because that wasn't fair.  So why would it suddenly disappear?_

He lied down on his back and stared at the remaining visible clouds.  One suspiciously looked like a plump chicken leg.  He stared at it hungrily until a larger cloud covered it.

_That's it!  Syaoran no baka!  You'd been staring at her the whole time._  He got up and jumped from roof to roof until he got to the Tsukimine Shrine.  He had been losing her aura around this area every time.  He had thought that it disappeared because she kept on moving away.  But now he realized she was hiding here the whole time.  He quickly ran to the Sakura tree and looked up.  Sure enough, high up on a branch was Naomi's sleeping figure.  Her feet were dangling down and her upper body was leaning against the trunk.  He could now see her silver ki.

_No, she didn't hide it.  Well in a way she did.  She used the strong power of the tree to cloak hers_, he thought, slightly angry at her for being so conniving and at himself for not realizing it sooner.

"There you are," Naomi yawned as she stretched her arms.  "What took you so long?"

"You cheated."

"You know very well that I didn't," she replied as she jumped down.  "Besides, didn't I tell you that you should always think of tactics and possibilities?"

Syaoran glared at the ground.  He should really learn to use his brain.  He looked up when Naomi leaned in front of him and laid her hands on his shoulder.

"It's all right.  You're doing quite well actually.  It took me two weeks to learn how to detect and manage an aura.  Just remember to not let your emotions cloud your judgment.  It could be dangerous to the point of being lethal.  Just like what happened to me yesterday," she gave out a dry laugh.  "See, even I make mistakes."

"It just frustrates me so," he sighed as he sat down on the ground.

"I understand how you feel.  It is frustrating when the one you love is in danger."

Syaoran quickly looked at her in surprise, his face reddening in embarrassment.  "You noticed."

"It's not that difficult to see but you shouldn't let frustration get the better of you.  At times when you doubt yourself, try to remember Sakura and your love for her because her belief in your capabilities would surely give you strength."

"But that's my problem.  I'm not strong enough.  Mori is much more powerful," he whined despite of his deepening blush.

"That's where you are wrong.  You are stronger than him because you have friends who love and support you while he has no one."

Syaoran heard the slight bitterness in her words.  He decided to ask her the question that's been nagging him since that morning.  "Anou…do you hate your father that much?"

"I hate what he did to my mother," Naomi said after a long pause.  "What he did was unforgivable."

"Then you must hate me too."  Seeing his cousin's confused look, he explained, "We disowned you and your mother, remember?"

"What a person did does not reflect another one's action.  I cannot hold you responsible for what the elders did to my mother.  You weren't even born then.  Besides, it's their loss when they disowned us, not ours."

"Where did you learn how to fight?  I mean it's impossible for Eriol to teach you since you're older than us."  He sweatdropped at the image of baby Eriol holding his enormous magical staff and teach toddler Naomi incantations.

"My mother taught me everything she knew about magic," she smiled as she gazed at the darkening sky.  "She wasn't as heartless as you may think.  She was incapable of loving me but she never shirked away from the responsibilities of taking care of me.  She taught me how to read, write and fight until I was seven."

He looked at the older girl, not interrupting her.  It was obvious that it had been a while since she last talked about her past to anyone.  His heart ached with sympathy.  She must have been really lonely as a child.  At least he had his sisters and Meiling even though they're irritating as hell.

"She died of heartbreak.  The day came when her heart could no longer stand the pain and anguish she felt."

"Gomen nasai."

"Iie. I was actually glad she died.  Don't get me wrong though.  I was not angry at her for not showering me with the affection that I craved.  The day she died was a happy day because she became free from Yue's curse."

Syaoran nodded in understanding although he disapproved of something.  Neilan Li may be free from the curse but her daughter was still suffering from it.  He didn't voice it out though.

"She had entrusted me to the monks hidden in the mountains of China.  There I learned kung fu and other defensive fighting techniques.  Then I moved to England to look for Eriol-sama and now here I am."

"Demo," he still wanted to know how she knew Eriol was the incarnate of Clow Reed but was stopped by, to his embarrassment, the loud growling in his stomach.

"Come on.  We need to put some food in you.  You need lots of energy for your training tonight."  Naomi laughed at that and stood up.  Syaoran groaned at the thought but followed her back to her apartment anyways.  "You're okay for a Li.  I'm sure you'd make a great leader someday."

~Scene Change~

"Daijoubu?"  Syaoran heard Sakura ask.  He knew that he looked like a zombie.  He was so tired and sleepy and was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, least of all answer her back.

"He's okay," Meiling answered for him.  They were walking Sakura to school since Touya had left early for soccer practice.  Syaoran, Touya and Naomi all agreed to take turns in walking Sakura to and fro school.  It was imperative that at least one of them was with the Card Mistress since she was Mori's main target.

"Syaoran and Naomi trained all day yesterday and through most of the night," Meiling continued.  "I didn't even notice what time he came home."

The main topic of their conversation suddenly snapped out of his trance, much to the girls' surprise.  He had felt a flare of aura and could sense that the source came from somewhere near them.  He quickly summoned his sword and ran forward, ignoring Sakura's bewildered exclamations.

Little daggers appeared from the other side of the street, flying directly at him.  He turned to face them but it was already too late.  Several kunai had pinned him against the wooden fence.

"Not fast enough, Syaoran." Naomi (with Neilan-doll) appeared from the shadows of a house across the street.  "Ohayo, Sakura-chan.  Ohayo, Meiling-chan."

"Put me down!"  Syaoran glared at her.  He was hanging from the fence, his feet dangling a few inches above the ground.  Two of the daggers had pinned the straps of his backpack on the wood while the other daggers outlined his upper body.

"Are you crazy?!" he yelled as soon as his feet were on the ground.  "You don't throw knives at little kids in broad daylight.  Somebody could have seen you."

"And I suppose its okay for little kids to play with real swords?"  Naomi countered, dryly pointing out that he was still holding the sword he magically conjured out of nowhere.  "Besides, aren't you glad that you noticed my aura even before I threw my kunai?  You should be, you know.  That's definitely an improvement from yesterday."

He grunted his response as he hid the amulet in his pocket.  It was true that he did improve but it doesn't mean such a big fuss.  He was feeling impatient and frustrated because he thought that what Naomi was teaching him was of little use or significance.  The four walked on and were greeted by Touya and Yukito at the entrance of Tomoeda Elementary School.

"Ohayo, minna-san."  Yukito waved at them.

"Ohayo, Naomi."  Touya smiled at her when they reached the entrance but frowned when he saw her yawn.  He knew that she trained with Syaoran until God knows what time.  He glared at the boy for not only was he trying to steal his sister, he was also spending a lot of time with Naomi.

Syaoran scowled back.  The others went on chatting, not paying any attention to the guys' daily greeting ritual.  The chimes for both schools rang, ending their glaring contest.  Meiling grabbed Syaoran by the straps of his bag while Naomi dragged Touya by the hand.  And so another ordinary day started in the extraordinary lives of these special kids.  Too bad the peace wasn't going to last long.

To be continued…


	14. Lover's Tiff

**BISHLOV'S WORDS OF GRATITUDE AND OTHERS:**

lozza-pilgrim – It isn't a matter whether you wrote a long review or not but whether you sent a review or not.  And, hon, thanks a bunch!  You made me feel good again.  Sorry it took me so long to update but I'm in between crisis right now and I have to spend more time in the real world.

sK – Thanks for the review.  This is not a great chapter but hopefully it's good enough.  Okay, it's a boring chapter but I had to write it down anyways.

Sakura&Syaoran4ever – Sorry if this isn't soon enough.  And about the S+S moments, don't worry.  I'm planning to put tons of them but not just yet.  The time isn't right for them yet.  Soon.  You'll see.

?????? – Okay, I give you the permission to cuss me some more since it took me this long to update again.  For a moment I reconsidered discontinuing the story again but I always keep my promises.  I'm going to finish this fic no matter what!

Sakura_miaka – Ooh.  Sorry, hon, for the delay.  I have the WB virus again.  And it's okay to correct me in fact I encourage readers to point out my mistakes as long as they say them nicely (just like what you did).  As for the chi and ki, I think we're both correct.  According to my sister, it's called chi in Chinese and ki in Japanese.  And about the E+T, I _might_ add some moments but I'm still thinking about it.  Cheers!

SVZ – Hehe.  Next time I'm gonna make him see a double scoop ice cream.  Lol.  Thanks for reading the lot of my fics.  I've been seeing your name pop up everywhere.  *Hugs* you're the best!

**DISCLAIMER:**  I do not own CCS or any of its characters.  CLAMP does.  This plot is a product of my imagination.  Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.

KINOMOTO'S ANGEL 

By bishounen lovah

Chapter 14

The days that followed were very hectic.  Naomi taught Syaoran to strengthen his powers.  Fujitaka taught Touya how to _use_ his powers.  Eriol taught Sakura to strengthen her defense.  Tomoyo taught Meiling how to get the best video shots.  Nakuru taught Kero how to maximize Spinel's mouth area for stuffing in sweets.  And Yukito, well, he had been more quiet than usual, no doubt reflecting Yue's mood.

Between school, home, training, keeping Syaoran away from Sakura and acting as buffer between Yue and Naomi, Touya had his hands full but somehow he managed.  He had hoped for normalcy but it seemed like there would not be any in the near future.

He and Naomi were in the library researching about some heart problem their "baby" supposedly had.  Apparently even their make-believe family had a problem of its own.

He peeked at her from across the table and wondered (for the nth time) at her extreme likeness to his mother.  It was quite freaky although it did not mean she looked like a freak.  Contrary to it actually.  She was very beautiful just as his mother was though bit by bit he could see their differences on the inside if not on the outside.  Sure she was clumsy from time to time but there was that serious air about her that was never a part of Nadeshiko's personality.  Sometimes he would think that she was too serious for her own good.

Naomi suddenly looked up from the book she was reading and caught Touya staring at her.  She smiled at him much the same way Nadeshiko would and for a moment his heart ached as he was transported to the past.  He blushed a bit but he overcame it when he shook off his embarrassment.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me, Touya-kun?"

"Yes—no!  I mean…" He searched his brain for something—anything that would make sense.  In the end, he spoke the first thing that came into his mind.  "You should smile more often.  You're too beautiful not to."

And so the table was turned.  Naomi blushed at what he said, unaccustomed to compliments or attention of any kind.  Since he now had her full attention he decided to push his luck and ask the questions that were deemed off limits.

"Naomi-chan…do you hate your father so much?"

The confusion was visible in her eyes.  It was quite a change of topic.  "I hate what he did to my mother."

"But do you hate him so much?"  He knew he wasn't making much sense but he didn't know how else to put it.  "Look, I don't blame you for feeling that way.  I might even feel the same if I was in your position but when this is all over and we defeat Mori, is there a possibility that you'll forgive him just so you can let go?"

Nadeshiko had once spoken to her about this.  Was she speaking the truth?

Forgiveness…that's what you need to stop all of this hurting.  Your mother must forgive herself for what she didn't do and you must forgive your father for what he did do.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully.  "If you were in my position, would you?"

Touya thought for a moment.  It was such a crucial question on the sensitive topic.  "I would try very hard at it.  My mother wouldn't want me to carry any excess baggage.  Hatred is too heavy to carry around for a whole lifetime."

There was a momentary silence and all that could be heard were the rustling of pages from the other tables and hushed voices from the checkout counter.  He did not like the idea that the reason why Naomi was so serious was because she could not let go of the past.

"I'll think about it," she said after a while.  If two people (well technically one person and one angel) thought forgiveness was essential then it was worth thinking over even if she found it distasteful.

"And while we're on the subject, can I ask you another question?"  He was glad that she wasn't entirely opposed to the idea but there was something else bothering him.  "Do you hate Yue so much?"

She squirmed in her seat a bit, not liking this kind of attention at all.  "I don't suppose I do.  I know he only did what he was supposed to do.  What bothers me is that he was all too ready to do it.  He had no qualms about it at all.  Didn't he realize that erasing all love on earth would mean the end of the world?"

"I can't answer that for him but have you thought of confronting him?  I'm not doing this because his other self is my best friend.  I'm worried about you.  Sidestepping the issue won't solve anything."

"I know that.  I just don't know how to approach him."

"I don't think that's the case."

"Excuse me," Naomi looked at him in confusion.  She had a feeling that she would not like what he was going to say.  Her lips thinned as she braced herself for his words.

"I think you don't want to approach him.  You want him to make the first move since he's the one who faulted you and your mother.  Pride won't also solve anything."

There it was—the truth.  She didn't like it thrown to her face and she resented the fact that it was the man she loved who did the throwing.  And from the way he said it, it seemed like he didn't approve of it.  Fine, it was pride that kept her from talking to Yue but what was keeping Yue from apologizing to her?  It has got to be pride too but she hadn't seen Touya confronting Yue about it.

She was getting herself worked up and with good reason.  It was very obvious that his loyalty still lies with his best friend.  "So you're saying I'm being high-and-mighty," she said slowly.

"Of course not," his eyes widened a bit.  "You're taking this the wrong way.  What I'm trying to say is…"

"Oh I know what you're trying to say.  You think I'm being too stubborn and spiteful.  Well, if that's how you feel then why don't you go back to your angelic Yue since you think he can't do any wrong!"

"Hold on a minute.  I didn't—keep it down.  You're going to get us kicked out," he whispered rather loudly, trying to make himself heard above her rants.

"Oh so it's my fault again, is it?  Well, I'll save you the trouble.  I'm leaving and don't you dare follow me."  She gathered all of her things, shoved them in her bag then stomped out of the library.

Touya rubbed his eyes as he sighed loudly.  He had no idea what went wrong but he must have done something to anger her like that.  The librarian loudly cleared her throat and shot him a warning look and she was not the only one who was glaring at him.  Several students, mostly guys, who overheard the last part of the argument, were staring at him as though he was a first class jerk.

Perhaps he had been a jerk but he certainly did not mean it.  All he wanted was to help Naomi with her problems.  It served him right to meddle in the affairs of other magically inclined people.  He had problems of his own like the things his father was teaching him.  He hasn't mastered his new powers yet and needed all the focus he could get.

It looks like he has another distraction to bother him.  Their first lovers' tiff.  He should have guessed even _that_ wouldn't be about normal things.  He glanced at the door where Naomi stormed off.  She said that he shouldn't follow her and he contemplated if it was a wise thing to do.  In the end, he decided that he should let her cool off first.

"Come on, Neilan," Touya gathered his things and slipped on the baby carrier.  "It looks like it's going to be just you and me for a while."

~*~

_Of all the—!  _Naomi couldn't finish the thought.  She was too furious…too insulted.  _How dare he accuse me of those things?  _I'm_ not the one who did something wrong.  I'm_ the one who was wronged.  _I'm__ the victim._

She suddenly stopped pacing the roof top when she realized something.  She was being self-centered all of the sudden.  Had she always been like this?

It was then that she noticed another presence behind her.  She was too preoccupied with her anger that she hadn't realized that she was being observed.  "So this is where you've been hiding," she called out to the wind.

Yue neither spoke nor moved.  He just kept on staring with those cat-like silver eyes of his and it rattled more on her nerves.  But Naomi knew that it was the moon guardian's MO.  He was not a talker.  He was an observer.

_Well two can play at this game_, she thought with a smirk.  Slowly she faced him and threw him an accusing stare.  This entire mess was partially his fault.

If only he hadn't given the test to Mori.  He knew her father would never pass his judgment.

If only he hadn't cast the curse.  He didn't have to do that.  Wasn't denying the card captor ownership of the cards punishment enough?  Why did he have to involve everyone else?

And if only he ask for pardon.  Then maybe, just maybe, her emotions wouldn't be such a mess.  Why wouldn't he admit that he was wrong?  Why wouldn't he at least try to explain his side?

After a while, Naomi felt impatient at their staring contest.  She wasn't as cold as she'd believe herself to be and Yue had centuries of practice.  But what she said next definitely got through his defenses.

"Are you willing to risk your mistress' life?  You might lose her just as you lost your creator."

"Are you saying that you refuse to help Sakura-sama just because I refuse to give in to your demands?" his silver eyes flashed briefly.

"And what do you know of my demands?"

"Retaliation…retribution."

It irritated her how easily these people saw through her very soul.  She was angry for her mother and for herself.  She wanted justice for the wrong that was done to them.  So angry, she was, that she didn't know on whom she could put the blame.

She wanted Enishi Mori to pay for what he had done to her mother.  She wanted to make Yue regret the decision he made years ago…but not at the expense of another.  She could not involve anyone else for she would be doing the same mistake both Mori and Yue had done.

What was it that she really wanted?

"You cannot punish Sakura-sama because of me and I cannot undo the past."

"How about a simple apology?"

Yue looked away with a slight frown marring his beautiful face.  After a minute of waiting, it had looked like she was hoping for nothing.  She knew this would be the outcome if she confronted him but she just had to be a fool.

Naomi silently cursed as she made way to the stairs.  She couldn't stand another minute with the smug guardian, didn't really want to be in his presence anyway.  But as she reached for the doorknob she suddenly felt a dark presence looming above her.  She looked up but it was already too late.

A strong wind swirled around her, suffocating her with its darkness.  It was all too sudden that her mind froze in shock.  She was helpless and didn't know what to do.  The last thing she saw was a long, pristine white feather brushing her face.

To be continued…


End file.
